KUCHING: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg dismisses forecasts suggesting Kuching will be inundated by sea levels by 2050.
He said that while there are concerns about global temperatures exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, it is still only a prediction.
“Therefore, it is important to reduce carbon emissions and enhance international cooperation in preventing excessive temperature increases.
“I fear people panicking, this may not happen. It’s the culture of science. That’s why we need to play our role in ensuring that we have a certain limit on temperature increases, which scientists say should be below 1.5 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 1.5 Celsius,” he said.
He said this when met by reporters after attending the Sarawak Energy’s Ramah Tamah Aidilfitrit at Menara Sarawak Energy here on Thursday.
Abang Johari was commenting on predictions by a private research centre, the Centre for Governance and Political Studies (Cent-GPS), that forecasted Kuching becoming a city submerged below sea level by the year 2050, based on the latest study, Elevation Data Triple Estimates of Global Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding, which is published in Nature Communications.
Commenting further, he stressed on the need to control global temperature levels so they do not exceed the maximum level.
“If temperatures continue to rise, it will lead to increasingly warmer oceans, damaging coral reefs, and threatening marine life.
“We need to take a key role in ensuring that there is a limit to temperature increases,” he explained.
Thus, Abang Johari called on developed countries to commit to the use of renewable energy.
“There is also the need for global financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support developing countries in their transition to clean energy.
“The United Nations must play an active role in pressuring global financial institutions to act,” he said.
