THE Penang Green Council (PGC), partnering with the British High Commission in Malaysia, successfully launched the ‘Climate Modelling & Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) Training for Early Career Researchers’ yesterday.
The three-day training session (Oct 15 -Oct 17) is aimed at improving the quality of data collected by researchers to be used as an important reference material for future development of the climate change action plans.
This large-scale training course also aims to encourage young people to participate and express their views on the availability of climate change data in Malaysia so as to improve the efficiency of data collection in the future.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, in his address via a pre-recorded video, highlighted the importance of having a talent pool to collect valuable data to address climate change.
Chow said the ‘big data’ has been touted as an important tool with regard to climate-related studies. He said it would help in problem solving by identifying pressure points and data to serve as the basis for forecasts.
“It has become a global topic in the recent years due to its ability to uncover patterns in the chaos of information explosion.
“Thus, there is a need to fill the gap in our country’s technical capacity to address climate-related issues, via quality data collection and analysis as well as the skills to produce accurate and holistic climate modelling.
“As such, this event aims to encourage youths to engage and highlight their perspectives on the availability of climate change data in Malaysia.
“In collaboration with the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, the Penang state government also hopes to establish networks and partnerships between UK-MY scientists in the areas of GHG inventory and climate modelling,’’ said Chow.
Deriving information from the big data, Chow also shared that the trajectory for global warming based on current emission is beyond 1.5°C and potentially 2°C.
“Based on future projections, the average annual temperature in Malaysia is expected to rise from 0.6°C to 1.0°C in 2030 and 1.2°C to 1.6°C in 2050.
“To increase our country’s preparedness for its impact, public awareness and empowerment are now critical to produce a climate resilient community in the future.
“In view of this, the PGC has taken the initiative to produce a report on the ‘Climate Change Impact in Penang’ to highlight the matter to policymakers and the wider society in Penang,’’ Chow added.
Furthermore, Chow also said the state government, through the Penang Green Agenda, is also emphasising the importance of data accessibility and transparency in strengthening its decision-making process.
“We hope that our collective efforts, particularly this event, will assist the state in further implementing climate change adaptation plans to achieve the Penang2030 vision of “A Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation”.
“I take this opportunity to encourage all youths to actively participate meaningful environmental movements such as this. Make the choice and for the change you want to see tomorrow as the future is yours,’’ Chow said.
Also present during the launch were British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay, PGC general manager Josephine Tan, Seberang Perai City Council acting director of Urban Services Department Ahmad Zabri Mohamed Sarajudin, Department of Earth Sciences and Environment Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia chairperson Prof Dr Fredolin Tangang, Universiti Malaya senior lecturer, (Department of International and Strategic Studies) Dr Helena Varkkey and Prof Andrew Turner from University of Reading, United Kingdom (National Centre for Atmospheric Science & Department of Meteorology).
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix Law Suun Ting