UTM delegates consisting of 11 academic staff and 9 research students attended 2 days of Annual Meeting on the Project for Development of Low Carbon Society Scenario in Asian Region in Kyoto University, Japan on 11th to 12th April 2012. This was the 3rd annual meeting jointly organised by Kyoto University and UTM. It was the first time it was hosted in Kyoto University where the previous ones were held in UTM.
The project aims to contribute to society by empowering researchers and policy makers to apply the developed methodology to design practical and effective low carbon polices in Malaysia and Asia. Importantly UTM will become a Regional Research And Training Hub for the advancement of development of low carbon society scenarios in Asia.
The project is funded by JICA –JST through the SATREPS grant (Science and Technology research partnership for Sustainable development) from 2011 to 2016 with a total grant of close to RM8 million. The grant has so far secured several state-of-the-art equipments for Air Quality Measurement & Monitoring and Solid Waste Analysis in UTM.
The meeting was led by research champions Prof. Yuzuru Matsuoka from Kyoto University and Prof. Dr. Ho Chin Siong from UTM. It was attended by UTM’s Dean from Faculty of Built and Environment, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Nazri bin Muhammad Ludin who delivered the Opening Address and researchers from Kyoto University, Japan National Institute of Environment Studies (NIES), Okayama University and representatives from Malaysian local authorities including Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) , and Federal Department of Town & Country Planning (JPBD).
The meeting also witnessed the launching of the annual report for the first fiscal year of 2011 which features various discussions and events involving different stakeholders in a concise format of Record of Discussion (ROD).
The project aims to establish methodology for development of low carbon society scenario in Asian regions and currently has chosen Iskandar Malaysia as a model region to serve as best practice for other Asian regions in time to come. The annual meeting serves as a platform to strengthen the collaboration and cooperation already established among the participating universities and key government authorities such as IRDA and other federal and local authorities.
The research team comprised of 5 main research groups i.e. Scenario Integration and Land use Planning, Consensus Building and Education, Energy system, Solid Waste management, Air Quality and Transportation. Although, the team members are from different faculties, universities and cross country, the close rapport and collaborative effort established through periodic meetings and video conferencings have minimized the ‘distance” barriers and obstacles in pursuing the research work.
The project aims to contribute to society by empowering researchers and policy makers to apply the developed methodology to design practical and effective low carbon polices in Malaysia and Asia. Importantly UTM will become a Regional Research And Training Hub for the advancement of development of low carbon society scenarios in Asia.
The UTM delegates also visited Okayama University and Okayama Eco Town including Okayama-City East Clean Center for Refuse Incineration Facilities, Okayama Tobu Recycle Plaza, Mizushima Eo-works Co. And Recycling Management Japan, INC. Several key technologies pertinent to waste incineration, gasification, waste-to-wealth products and effective waste segregation practices were witnessed.