July-August, 2020 | @green
BUILDINGS
23
A cohort of partner cities
This workshop was attended by 50 participants from
various backgrounds.
The Q&A session during the 2-day workshop was very
active with many questions from the floor.
The participants also had a great experiential visit to
the 5-star rated energy efficient building, the Diamond
Building at the Energy Commission HQ in Putrajaya.
(RE) technology to achieve ZEB.
Countries such as Japan, Singapore and those in the EU
have targeted that all new public buildings by 2020 must
achieve ZEB status. In order to reduce operational carbon
in buildings, sustainable energy have been identified as the
key driver during the operation phase of building, starting
with the energy efficiency measures to optimise the energy
consumption.
With current RE technology and applications such as
Net Energy Metering (NEM) under SEDA Malaysia, it can
be used to off-set further the balance of energy needed
by using an on-site re system. Towards ZEB mean, the
portion of energy used is reduced and the portion of RE
generated increased and it is possible to achieve 100%
energy generated by RE.
Furthermore, with current development of experience
and technology in both energy efficiency (EE) and re in
Malaysia, it is possible to make buildings to become super
EE or ZEB. SEDA Malaysia is currently providing the Low
Carbon Building Facilitation Programme, especially to the
States and Local Authorities that have been involved in the
Low Carbon Cities Programme since 2015.
Starting from 2018 SEDA Malaysia also had embarked
in another voluntary initiative, the ZEB Facilitation Programme,
aiming to encourage and facilitate more super ee
buildings starting with basic energy savings initiative and
step- by-step moving to super EE / ZEB. SEDA Malaysia
officers were trained by METI through its agencies ECCJ/
JASE-W on ZEB development since 2017.
SEDA Malaysia also inherits some of the EE in building
design experiences gained from the previous government
integrated EE in building demonstrations such as the
LEO Building and GEO Building. SEDA Malaysia is in the
opinion that super EE building design should be promoted
further in line with current technology development available
in Malaysia.
JASE-W has been appointed and managed by ECCJ
on behalf of the Japan Government/METI to promote the
development of ZEB in Japan and ASEAN. The collaboration
between Malaysia and Japan can facilitate further the
development of ZEB in Malaysia. — @green
The CirCULATe Initiative, Ocean
Conservancy, and Global Resilient
Cities Network recently announced
the first cohort of partner cities that
will take part in the Urban Ocean
programme.
The programme empowers cities
in South and Southeast Asia and Latin
America to develop circular economies,
reduce plastic waste and build
cleaner, healthier and more resilient
communities for the long term, particularly
as they weather the impact
of the current Covid-19 crisis.
Scientists estimate eight million
metric tons of plastic enters the ocean
each year due to mismanaged waste -
waste that is either never collected or
not adequately contained.
That’s the equivalent of one garbage
truck of plastic entering the ocean
every minute.
While plastic pollution costs an
estimated US$2.5 trillion to the global
economy annually, the issue has
severe impact on human health and
safety as well as the environment.
Unfortunately, the Covid-19
pandemic has both worsened existing
vulnerabilities within our waste
management systems and exposed
new ones.
Over the next 15 months, Urban
Ocean will work closely with city
leaders in Can Tho (Vietnam),
Melaka (Malaysia), Semarang (Indonesia),
Pune (India) and Panama City
(Panama), known as “learning cities”,
as well as other cities from the Global
Resilient Cities Network community,
known as “mentor cities”.
The initiative will link them to
opportunities that improve waste
management and recycling systems;
reduce the amount of plastic flowing
into the ocean; promote circular
economies; support inclusive and
equitable economic development; and
build resilience for the long term.
The Circulate Initiative, Ocean Conservancy
and Global Resilient Cities
Network recognise that collaboration
between leading cities and partners
willing to invest in change at scale will
help address these challenges.
This first cohort of cities was
selected because of their commitment
to improving waste management.
It was part of resilience-building
efforts and their potential to provide
solutions in geographies with high
waste leakage rates (learning cities).
Or, because they are leading the way
in the fight against river and ocean
plastic or in implementing circular
economy approaches (mentor cities).
Pune (India) is an example doing
both through its successful work with
the informal sector and has been
selected as both a learning and mentor
city.
Susan Ruffo, Executive Director at
The Circulate Initiative, said waste
management was a critical and complex
challenge for all cities around the
world.
“We need to work with committed
city leaders and innovative partners
to find implementable and scalable
on-the-ground solutions to fight
ocean plastic and advance the circular
economy,” said Ruffo.
“By working with Ocean Conservancy
and Global Resilient Cities
Network, in partnership with these
Lauren Sorkin
Susan Ruffo
leading cities, we will be able to
develop and deliver solutions where
an is needed most, at the local level.”
Plastics Initiative director at Ocean
Conservancy, Chever Voltmer, pointed
out the Covid-19 pandemic had laid
bare just how critical waste management
systems are to public health and
the environment.
“This is especially true in urban
areas where population density
and waste generation are greatest.
Through Urban Ocean, we will help
cities weather this storm and better
prepare for future ones, while reducing
plastic pollution in our ocean,”
said Voltmer.
Lauren Sorkin, Executive Director
Global Resilient Cities Network, said
they had worked with 98 member
cities for more than six years to
address resilience challenges. They
now understood that moving beyond
waste management towards a circular
economy required collaboration
across all levels of a municipality.
“With the additional strain on city
systems from Covid-19, we will accelerate
city-to-city knowledge sharing
through Urban Ocean. It will give
waste a new life with innovative solutions
that provide multiple benefits
like safer and healthier jobs, stronger
local economies and a healthier environment,”
said Sorkin.
The Urban Ocean programme
also included other implementation
partners such as the University of
Georgia’s New Materials Institute and
The Incubation Network. Additional
implementation partners may be
selected based on specific program
needs during its implementation.
The Covid-19 crisis has severely
disrupted existing solid waste management
systems. The partners have
also come together to provide knowledge
and tools to all cities looking
for support to implement immediate
actions through the Global Resilient
Cities Network’s Cities for a Resilient
Recovery (C2R) initiative. — @green