Perhaps something which we could study from?

Our neighbour is serious about becoming a sustainable city state. And looks like they've got their vision in place and all the little that make up the big steps in achieving it. As I was studying the various ministries in Malaysia and how each one is fighting their own green war, in some cases, even rivalling with one another to achieve their own KPIs, I realised that this particular war can only be won if there is synergy and common understanding amongst the different ministries, themselves. Little did I know what was actually missing from our big picture of things is what Singapore has already kicked start in January last year. They've set up a working committee called the Inter-ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development which comprises of ministries of National Development, Environment and Water Resource, Finance, Transport as well as Trade & Industry - all the key players of environmental economics that is crucial to sustainable urban growth, if you noticed.

In a nutshell, their vision is crystal which is to boost resource efficiency, avoiding market failure at all cost by putting the greatest emphasis on expanding renewable resources which protects social welfare while achieving economic growth:

• Achieve a 35% improvement in energy efficiency from 2005 levels by 2030.
• Make optimum use of land.
• Attain a recycling rate of 70% by 2030.
• Ensure adequate supplies of water for future generations, and we aim to reduce domestic water consumption to 140L per person per day by 2030.

The above was tabled from extensive consultation with businesses, community leaders as well as the general public.

With Malaysia awakening to the importance of Green Technology, I'm sure it's just a matter of time we realised that we cannot fight isolated wars on climate change. Throughout the entire economic chain, the environment is hugely affected and it will not make any difference if one party decides to downplay the impact on environment over economic gains. It's time we look at not just what kind of battle we're in but how we're fighting it. But is the strength in numbers enough?

Locating ministries.

It's been some time now since we've uploaded something on our Green Chronicles. Anyway, work has resumed after a short pause of putting together overflowing information.

Today, we've compiled a comparison of the old and new cabinet of Malaysia (2008 versus 2009) just to look through what are the ministries which are directly linked and contribute to environmental awareness and conservation efforts in Malaysia. What's really interesting is the newly formed Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water which replaced Ministry of Energy, Water and Communication. The formation of Green Tech policies will give hope to many in propelling Malaysia forward to join the world in building green sustainable cities that our children can continue to live and breathe in. We have emailed three ministries namely Natural Resource and Environment; Energy, Green Technology and Water; as well as Tourism. Let's see if we can get the support on in-depth green knowledge that we need for this project.