KUALA LUMPUR, 23 November 2016 – Close to 130 international and local experts from various countries, including the local officials from various ministries, state departments and local authorities, academia and industry are set to descend on 23-25 November 2016 for the 2nd International Conference of Low Carbon Asia (ICLCA) in UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), through UTM-Low Carbon Asia Research Centre and Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) are hosting this very important event in collaboration with The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) from Japan.
The key objective of the ICLCA is to deliberate upon and set Asia’s Low Carbon Actions towards meeting global climate change mitigation and adaptation targets up to 2030 and beyond. Notably, the conference serves as a high-impact platform bringing together researchers and multi-stakeholders from academic, government & industry to champion the transformation and governance of low carbon societies in Asia & beyond.
The event was officiated by the Deputy Minister II of the Ministry Green Technology, Energy & Water (KeTTHA), YB Senator Dato ‘ Sri SK Devamany.
The Deputy Minister said, KeTTHA will continuously play the vital role to ensure the effective development and implementation of green policies in the power industry, water and green technology by the provision of comprehensive infrastructure and regulatory mechanisms in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, UTM Vice Chancellor, Prof Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar, in his opening speech stressed the role of ICLCA to continuously serves as a platform for knowledge and experience sharing from the experts for sustainable development; at the same time the delegates would get a fruitful discussion from the keynote and break-out sessions.
The event featured six keynote speeches; nine breakout sessions with 120 presenters from 15 countries that cover the key topics and issues related to the current state, challenges, and future policy directions of climate change mitigation and adaptation in Asia.
The ICLCA 2016 forum themed ‘Are we gearing towards carbon capture, utilisation and storage for CO2 reduction in Malaysia?’ will focus on bridging the gap between academia, industry and government by bringing together experts, leaders, and practitioners from Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), Global CCS Institute Australia, Petronas, Tenaga National Berhad Research (TNBR) and UTM to provide a truly global perspective on Carbon Capture Storage and Utilisation (CCUS).
“Being a premier research university in Malaysia and the knowledge hub of the Skudai Innovation Valley that is strategically located in the rapidly growing Iskandar Malaysia region, UTM is proud to host the event.
“This is well in line with UTM’s strategic plan to become one of the Top 50 World Universities in the field of engineering and technology by 2020. Guided by UTM Global Plan 2012-2020, the university is committed towards contributing to a better world and, certainly, a climate resilient Asia,” said Professor Wahid.
Among the keynote speakers were Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, Chief Executive of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Prof Shuzo Nishioka from IGES, and Prof Jiri Klemes, the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Cleaner Production, Elsevier.
Several local authorities (LAs) showcased the low-carbon initiatives and polices including the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Johor Bahru Tengah Municipal Council, Kulai Municipal Council, and IRDA. The LAs contributed speakers in the Oral Session 01
“Development of Low Carbon Society” and also joined the Exhibition. The LAs aim to achieve a balanced growth where the urban development contributes towards improved and quality built environments whilst taking every effort to protect and conserve nature.
The next ICLCA will be hosted by The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok in October, 2017 <www.utm.my/iclca> in collaboration with UTM and IGES, Japan.