Tag Archives: energy

The world wants a lot more rare earths to power its green technology and meet climate goals. This offers lucrative opportunities for Malaysia to tap into its subterranean rare earth deposits of 16.1 billion tonnes. But first, the country wants to develop guidelines for a rare earth mining method said to be safer for the environment. Can Malaysia produce rare earths for the world’s green technology, and keep itself clean too?

(Image: A rare earth mining facility in Perak; satellite image taken in January 2022. | Image: Google Earth)

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Macaranga

Where is the Green in GE15?

October 31, 2022 SL Wong 3 Comments

ON 19 NOVEMBER, Malaysians will vote for our next federal government – and state governments too, for some.

From declaring a climate emergency to stopping deforestation, different groups are demanding that political candidates and parties include environmental and climate commitments in their GE15 manifestos. Here’s an evolving list of the demands compiled by Macaranga.

To help you evaluate, we also include evaluations by groups and a list of the specifical environmental / climate promises in the manifestos of the main political coalitions in Peninsular Malaysa, Sarawak and Sabah. There are links to some commentary/analysis as well.

You can do more than just read. You can make your demands to the candidates, and you can monitor candidates’ positions on environmental issues.

At the bottom of this page, use the templates of letters to send to candidates. Also check out #UndiIklim, an attempt still underway to rank candidates in terms of climate and environmental issues and policies.

(Feature photo: SL Wong)

Insight

Coal Can Be Costly – Who’s Paying?

December 22, 2021 1 Comment

Coal Can Be Costly—Who's Paying?

Text and Photos: Nicole Fong

Editor: YH Law

Published: 22 December 2021

(Cover Photo: Pieces of coal litter the beach by a jetty that was used to transport coal in Port Dickson | Pic by Nicole Fong)

Malaysia favours coal as a cheap source of energy. But for the communities living near the power plants, coal exacts a high price. This is Part 2 of a series that examines coal-use. Read Part 1 here.

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Insight

Rise of Coal in Malaysia

December 21, 2021 Nicole Fong Leave a comment

Malaysia’s dependence on coal stands in the way of the country’s ambition to tackle the climate crisis. This article looks at the numbers behind coal use in Malaysia.

MALAYSIA runs on coal. The black, solid remains of plants that died millions of years ago now make up 43% of our energy supply.

In 2000, coal contributed to only 7% of our energy mix, but our demand has risen steadily since.

(Photo: The coal-fired Kapar Power Plant in Selangor | Pic by Nicole Fong)

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