Alternative energy policies targeting the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) could have significant positive impacts on Malaysia's ability to meet both its carbon reduction goal and its energy security needs. The transport sector generally contributes heavily to carbon emissions, and is also difficult to decarbonize because of the costs associated with many greener options. This study explores the possibility of decarbonizing the Malaysian transport sector by promoting the use of hydrogen vehicles, and analyzes the adoption challenges and economic obstacles (especially public acceptance) associated with introducing HFCVs. This study contends that the adoption challenges of this new technology can be overcome through the use of development strategies outlined. This study also addresses the regulatory framework that Malaysia (and other countries) might use to overcome common policy adoption challenges of HFCVs.
This study accounts for the Hicks neutral technical change in a calibrated model of climate analysis, to identify the optimum level of technical change for addressing climate changes. It demonstrates the reduction to crop damages, the costs to technical change, and the net gains for the adoption of technical change for a climate-sensitive Pakistan economy. The calibrated model assesses the net gains of technical change for the overall economy and at the agriculture-specific level. The study finds that the gains of technical change are overwhelmingly higher than the costs across the agriculture subsectors. The gains and costs following technical change differ substantially for different crops. More importantly, the study finds a cost-effective optimal level of technical change that potentially reduces crop damages to a minimum possible level. The study therefore contends that the climate policy for Pakistan should consider the role of technical change in addressing climate impacts on the agriculture sector.
This paper gives a projection of the possible damage of climate change on the agriculture sector of Pakistan for the period 2012-2037, based on a dynamic approach, using an environment-related applied computable general equilibrium model (CGE). Climate damage projections depict an upward trend for the period of review and are found to be higher than the global average. Further, the damage to the agricultural sector exceeds that for the overall economy. By sector, climatic damage disproportionately affects the major and minor crops, livestock and fisheries. The largest losses following climate change, relative to the other agricultural sectors, are expected for livestock. The reason for this is the orthodox system of production for livestock, with a low adaptability to negative shocks of climate change. Overall, the findings reveal the high exposure of the agriculture sector to climate damage. In this regard, policymakers in Pakistan should take seriously the effects of climate change on agriculture and consider suitable technology to mitigate those damages.
The increasing level of greenhouse gas carbon emission currently exacerbates the devastating effect of global warming on the Earth's ecosystem. Energy usage is one of the most important determinants that is increasing the amount of carbon gases being released. Simultaneously, the level of energy usage is derived by the price, and therefore, this study examines the contribution of energy price to carbon gas emissions in thirteen African nations for the period spanning 1990 to 2017. It does this by utilising the cross-sectional dependence (CD), augmented mean group (AMG) and pooled mean group (PMG) panel modelling methods. The findings of the AMG model suggest that a 1% increase in energy price leads to a 0.02% decrease in carbon emission. The results further reveal that a 1% increase in energy intensity and technological innovation leads to 0.04% and 3.65% increase in carbon emission, respectively, in the selected African countries. Findings will help policymakers to implement effective energy price policies to reduce carbon emissions and achieve sustainable development goals especially in the emerging economies of Africa.
This study critically evaluates two COP proposals on Malaysia that have been under consideration to reduce climate damage. A top-down disaggregation framework deploying an "Empirical Regional Downscaling Dynamic Integrated Model of Climate and the Economy" is used to evaluate the local government climate roadmap and Malaysia's emissions reduction agendas under COP21 and subsequently COP22 proposals. The findings show that the costs from climate damage over the period 2010-2110 under the Malaysian Optimal Climate Action scenario will amount to MYR5,483 (US$1589) billion. The commensurate climate damage costs under the COP21 and COP22 scenario would be MYR5, 264 (US$1526) billion. Thus, the effective proposal for reducing climate damage in Malaysia over the period 2010-2110 is the COP22 time-adjusted COP21 proposal but there are a number of macroeconomic cost implications for savings and consumption that policy makers must address before acting.
Pandemics leave their mark quickly. This is true for all pandemics, including COVID-19. Its multifarious presence has wreaked havoc on people's physical, economic, and social life since late 2019. Despite the need for social science to save lives, it is also critical to ensure future generations are protected. COVID-19 appeared as the world grappled with the epidemic of climate change. This study suggests policymakers and practitioners address climate change and COVID-19 together. This article offers a narrative review of both pandemics' impacts. Scopus and Web of Science were sought databases. The findings are reported analytically using important works of contemporary social theorists. The analysis focuses on three interconnected themes: technology advancements have harmed vulnerable people; pandemics have macro- and micro-dimensions; and structural disparities. To conclude, we believe that collaborative effort is the key to combating COVID-19 and climate change, while understanding the lessons learnt from the industrialised world. Finally, policymakers can decrease the impact of global catastrophes by addressing many socioeconomic concerns concurrently.
This paper analyses empirically the optimal climate change mitigation policy of Malaysia with the business as usual scenario of ASEAN to compare their environmental and economic consequences over the period 2010-2110. A downscaling empirical dynamic model is constructed using a dual multidisciplinary framework combining economic, earth science, and ecological variables to analyse the long-run consequences. The model takes account of climatic variables, including carbon cycle, carbon emission, climatic damage, carbon control, carbon concentration, and temperature. The results indicate that without optimal climate policy and action, the cumulative cost of climate damage for Malaysia and ASEAN as a whole over the period 2010-2110 would be MYR40.1 trillion and MYR151.0 trillion, respectively. Under the optimal policy, the cumulative cost of climatic damage for Malaysia would fall to MYR5.3 trillion over the 100 years. Also, the additional economic output of Malaysia will rise from MYR2.1 billion in 2010 to MYR3.6 billion in 2050 and MYR5.5 billion in 2110 under the optimal climate change mitigation scenario. The additional economic output for ASEAN would fall from MYR8.1 billion in 2010 to MYR3.2 billion in 2050 before rising again slightly to MYR4.7 billion in 2110 in the business as usual ASEAN scenario.
This article projects the social cost of carbon (SCC) and other related consequences of climate change by using Malaysia's intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) and climate vision 2040 (CV2040) by 2050. It compares the projections derived from the Dynamic Integrated Model of the Climate and Economy (DICME) based on the respective INDC and CV2040 scenario. The results reveal that industrial emissions would incur a substantial increase every 5 years under the scenario CV2040, while Malaysia would experience lower industrial emissions in the coming years under the scenario INDC. Emission intensity in Malaysia will be 0.61 and 0.59 tons/capita in 2030 for scenario CV2040 and scenario INDC respectively. Malaysia would face climate damage of MYR456 billion and MYR 49 billion by 2050 under CV2040 and INDC scenario respectively. However, climate damage could be much lower if the INDC regime were adopted, as this scenario would decrease climatic impacts over time. The estimated SSC per ton of CO2 varies between MYR74 and MYR97 for scenario CV2040 and MYR44 and MYR62 for scenario INDC in 2030 and 2050 respectively. Considering different aspects, including industrial emissions, damage cost, and social cost of carbon, INDC is the best policy compared to CV2040. Thus, Malaysia could achieve its emissions reduction target by implementing INDC by 2050.
The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as one of the deadliest infectious diseases on the planet. Millions of people and businesses have been placed in lockdown where the main aim is to stop the spread of the virus. As an extreme phenomenon, the lockdown has triggered a global economic shock at an alarming pace, conveying sharp recessions for many countries. In the meantime, the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have drastically changed energy consumption patterns and reduced CO2 emissions throughout the world. Recent data released by the International Monetary Fund and International Energy Agency for 2020 further forecast that emissions will rebound in 2021. Still, the full impact of COVID-19 in terms of how long the crisis will be and how the consumption pattern of energy and the associated levels of CO2 emissions will be affected are unclear. This review aims to steer policymakers and governments of nations toward a better direction by providing a broad and convincing overview on the observed and likely impacts of the pandemic of COVID-19 on the world economy, world energy demand, and world energy-related CO2 emissions that may well emerge in the next few years. Indeed, given that immediate policy responses are required with equal urgency to address three things-pandemic, economic downturn, and climate crisis. This study outlines policy suggestions that can be used during these uncertain times as a guide.
This paper estimates Malaysian farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for a planned adaptation programme for addressing climate issues in the Malaysian agricultural sector. We used the contingent valuation method (CVM) for a monetary valuation of farmers' preferences for a planned adaptation programme by ascertaining the value attached to address climatic issues in the Malaysian agricultural sector. Structured questionnaires were distributed among the sampled farmers. The study found that 74 % of respondents were willing to pay for a planned adaptation programme and that several socioeconomic and motivation factors have greater influence on their WTP. This paper clearly specifies the steps needed for all institutional bodies to better address issues in climate change. The outcomes of this paper will support policy makers to better design an efficient adaptation framework for adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.
This study examines the safe delivery practices of Bangladeshi women using data on 4905 ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Variables that included age, region of origin, education level of respondent and spouse, residence, working status, religion, involvement in NGOs, mass media exposure, and wealth index were analyzed to find correlates of safe delivery practices. More than 80% of the deliveries took place at home, and only 18% were under safe and hygienic conditions. The likelihood of safe deliveries was significantly lower among younger and older mothers than middle-aged mothers and higher among educated mothers and those living in urban areas. Economically better-off mothers and those with greater exposure to mass media had a significantly higher incidence of safe delivery practices. A significant association with religion and safe delivery practices was revealed. Demographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and programmatic factors that are strongly associated with safe delivery practices should be considered in the formulation of reproductive health policy.
The significance of Science Framework (SF) to date is receiving more acceptances all over the world to address agricultural sustainability. The professional views, however, advocate that the SF known as Mega Science Framework (MSF) in the transitional economies is not converging effectively in many ways for the agricultural sustainability. Specially, MSF in transitional economies is mostly incapable to identify barriers in agricultural research, inadequate to frame policy gaps with the goal of strategizing the desired sustainability in agricultural technology and innovation, inconsistent in finding to identify the inequities, and incompleteness to rebuild decisions. Therefore, this study critically evaluates the components of MSF in transitional economies and appraises the significance, dispute and illegitimate issue to achieve successful sustainable development. A sound and an effective MSF can be developed when there is an inter-linkage within principal components such as of (a) national priorities, (b) specific research on agricultural sustainability, (c) adequate agricultural research and innovation, and (d) alternative policy alteration. This maiden piece of research which is first its kind has been conducted in order to outline the policy direction to have an effective science framework for agricultural sustainability.
This study empirically estimates farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for a planned adaptation programme for addressing climate issues in Pakistan's agricultural sectors. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was employed to determine a monetary valuation of farmers' preferences for a planned adaptation programme by ascertaining the value attached to address climatic issues. The survey was conducted by distributing structured questionnaires among Pakistani farmers. The study found that 67 % of respondents were willing to pay for a planned adaptation programme. However, several socioeconomic and motivational factors exert greater influence on their willingness to pay (WTP). This paper specifies the steps needed for all institutional bodies to better address issues in climate change. The outcomes of this paper will support attempts by policy makers to design an efficient adaptation framework for mitigating and adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.
This study analyses environmental sustainability indicators (ESIs) and explores their governance challenges in developing countries (Bangladesh and Thailand) and advances possible remedies in light of the practices of a developed country (Japan). A comparative analysis of countries' performance based on the ESIs could help identify useful practices from countries with high ESI to improve the poor ESI countries. While it is broadly understood that renewable energy and effective governance support environmental sustainability, our findings extend this knowledge by detailing how these factors interact specifically within the contexts of developed and developing nations. The analysis delineates the complex relationship between GDP growth, fossil fuel reliance, and sustainability efforts, offering a detailed examination of the variance in ESI performance across these countries. Beyond established notions, this study empirically validates the relationships between environmental sustainability (ES) and its influencing factors, providing a country-specific analysis that emphasizes the differential impact of renewable energy adoption, governance quality, and economic policies on environmental sustainability in Japan, Bangladesh, and Thailand. The results also revealed that Bangladesh's performance in terms of majority ESIs ranges from bad to worse, while Japan exhibits good performance in all its ESI indicators except for emissions. Thailand's ESI performance indicates its vulnerability to climate disasters and slow growth of renewable energy. The ESI measures of Thailand have shown its susceptibility to climate-related calamities and a slowdown in the rate of renewable energy implementation. A noticeable discrepancy in the execution of regulatory frameworks was noted between developing countries, such as Bangladesh, and industrialized ones, such as Japan. The outstanding results of Japan's ESI may be credited to the successful practices of its citizens and their strong devotion to the rule of law.