Kuala Lumpur, 23 November 2016 – Close to 130 experts, both foreign and local, including the local officials from various ministries, state departments and local authorities, academia and industries attended the 2nd International Conference of Low Carbon Asia (ICLCA) in UTM Kuala Lumpur.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), through UTM-Low Carbon Asia Research Centre and Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology(MJIIT), is 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 the 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 the academic, government and industry to champion the transformation and governance of low carbon societies in Asia and around the globe.
The event is officiated by the Deputy Minister, Prime Minister’s Department cum Acting Deputy Minister, Ministry of Energy, Green Technology And Water Malaysia, YB Senator Dato ‘ Sri SK Devamany. “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”, said YB Senator Dato ‘ Sri SK Devamany. UTM Vice Chancellor, Prof Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar, in his opening speech, emphasised the role of ICLCA to continuously serve as a platform for knowledge and experience sharing from the experts for sustainable development and, at the same time, assured that the delegates would gain much through fruitful discussions from the keynote address and break-out sessions.
The event will feature six (6) keynote speeches; nine (9) breakout sessions with 120 presenters from 15 countries that will 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 the academia, industries and governments by bringing together experts, leaders, and practitioners from the 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, which 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 a climate resilient Asia.
Among the keynote speakers are 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) will showcase their low-carbon initiatives and policies including the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Johor Bahru Tengah Municipal Council, Kulai Municipal Council and IRDA. The LAs will contribute speakers for the Oral Session 01 “Development of Low Carbon Society” and will also join/joined the Exhibition. The LAs aim is 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 in collaboration with UTM and IGES, Japan.