@Green September/October 2020 | Page 28

28 column

@ green | September-October , 2020

Is Covid-19 a blessing in disguise ?

The healing and cleaning by Mother Earth were amazing
By G . LALCHAND

The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly created havoc around the world , including in Malaysia with the repeated MCO ( Movement Control Order ) extensions . So , it may appear to be somewhat irreverent to label the Covid-19 pandemic as a “ blessing in disguise ”.

While the pandemic “ locked-in ” about half the global population under various degrees of stay-at-home restrictions , the resulting absence of human activities has allowed Mother Earth to recuperate and regain a good portion of its natural attributes and beauty .
How does this help humanity and Malaysia ?
Well , look at the “ Before MCO vs After MCO ” comparisons as shown in the picture below , presented by Prof Datuk Dr Mazlin Mokhtar of LESTARI , UKM at a Global Energy Utilities webinar in August 2020 .
The environmental clean-up by “ Mother Nature ” resulting from the restriction of human activity ( mainly transport and industrial activities ) during the pandemic in Malaysia was quite unusual and certainly very welcome .
With the restrictions imposed by Covid- 19 , we as citizens can attempt to emulate similar benefits by minimizing unnecessary transport and using electricity and other fuels more efficiently to replicate the emission reductions by intent .
Climate change , or global warming as it was initially termed , became a serious global concern in the latter half of the 20th century .
Bold commitment to reduce CO2 emissions
Initial efforts were directed to controlling the erosion of the ozone layer , followed by more concerted efforts to reduce the emissions of GHG ( Green House Gases ) that contribute to the global temperature rise and led to undesired climate change .
Green Technology and Green Growth became global mantras , especially after the COP ( Conference of Parties ) 15 in Copenhagen in December 2009 , and gained further emphasis at COP 21 in Paris in 2015 when the Paris Agreement was adopted .
The participating nations agreed to a Paris Agreement with commitments to
keep the global temperature rise by the end of this century to less than 2oC and to aim to keep it below 1.5oC .
Malaysia , as a participating member , made a bold commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 from its 2005 value , subject to receiving some international technical and financial support .
Malaysia subsequently raised its commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 .
Globally , reducing the CO2 emissions to the desired limits entails the adoption of a variety of strategies and technologies . The chart below shows an IEA ( International Energy Agency ) projection of the available options to achieve the desired CO2 reductions .
This shows that efficient use of energy ( electricity and fuel ) contributes the largest share of 38 per cent , while renewables and end-use fuel switching can contribute 17 per cent and 15 per cent respectively ,
So how has Malaysia performed in the management of its environment preservation obligations and carbon emission reductions ?
I would say “ pretty well indeed ”, especially after the end of the 20th century , even though the local environment has suffered substantial damage over the years .
Malaysia made significant efforts to promote efficient use of energy ( or EE ) and to develop renewable energy ( RE ) sources for electricity generation from the year 2000 onwards by granting fiscal incentives for these initiatives .
These incentives have been enhanced over the years to encourage electricity users to adopt EE practices and to replace their electrical appliances with more efficient models .
Attractive energy and cost savings
These initiatives were supported by the ST ( Suruhanjaya Tenaga ) developing MEPS ( Minimum Energy Performance Standards ) which mandated the minimum efficiency standards for consumer appliances to be manufactured or imported into Malaysia .
The ST had also developed an energy efficiency grading of consumer appliances based on a commonly used “ Star Rating ” mechanism , where a 5-star rating denotes the most efficient products in the particular category .
These initiatives were further enhanced with the formulation of the “ Green Building Index ” mechanism that aimed to make new buildings more energy-efficient , whether for commercial , industrial or residential use , as well as to encourage existing buildings to be retrofitted for the same purpose .
Also , SEDA ( Sustainable Energy Development Authority ) embarked on concerted efforts to promote the development of RE electricity generation , under the ambit of the RE Act of 2011 , with emphasis on solar PV ( photovoltaic ), biomass and biogas , small hydro-electric as well as geothermal as primary energy sources .
The then Ministry of Energy , Green Technology and Water ( KeTTHA ) supported these initiatives by implementing demonstration projects to prove the validity of the attractive energy and cost savings that were possible from such initiatives .
The charts below show two ( 2 ) of the more impressive and successful demonstration exercises that were implemented .
It is also worth mentioning that industry players , convinced by the government incentives and successful demonstration projects , contributed substantially to the adoption of EE and RE initiatives .
Two key local industry groups ’ associations are the MAESCO ( Malaysian Association of Energy Service Companies ) and MPIA ( Malaysian Photovoltaic Industry Association ).
These initiatives took some time to gain traction , and their impact on the national electricity demand growth only started to show positive results after 2010 , as more and more consumers took advantage of the tax incentives and adopted similar initiatives .
The chart below shows the declining rate of demand growth for electricity use in peninsular Malaysia , as determined by the ST ’ s projections .
There are , of course , many technology innovations that use electricity more efficiently than current technologies . The new forms of transport like hybrid and fully electric vehicles , hydrogen-fuel cell transport and some exotic electricity generation systems like geothermal , OTEC ( Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion ) are examples .
Not all of these are entirely practical or economically viable for Malaysia now . These topics will be addressed in follow up articles in this series . How can electricity consumers help to emulate the energy savings and carbon footprint reduction to build on the benefits already gained from the impact of Covid-19 ?
Malaysia has about 9 million consumers . If all consumers can reduce their daily electricity consumption by an average of only 1 kWh , then the total reduction would be about 9 million kWh , or 9 GWh ( Gigawatt hours ) a day , or about 330 GWh a year .
This reduction in consumption would reduce CO2 emissions by about 2.3 million tonnes a year .
What is 1 kWh of electricity consumption ? It is the electricity used by a nominal 1 HP air-conditioner operating for about 1.5 hours . Can we do it ? YES , WE CAN , SO LET US DO IT . — @ green
Ir . Lalchand is a strong supporter of EE , RE and Sustainable Development and is still passionate about these issues . He strongly believes the 3Es ( Energy , Economy & Environment ) need also to include an “ S ( for Society )” where the needs of the energy & earnings deprived segments of society , especially in developing countries , should be given enhanced support .