Green energy in Sarawak through Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) is predominantly renewable hydropower, and it is the energy development company’s commitment to ensure that every hydropower plant that it develops must comply with international sustainability standards.
One of these standards, noted its general manager for sustainability, Mohamad Irwan bin Aman, is the San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower, which outlines principles and recommendations for sustainable hydropower as “a clean, green, modern and affordable solution to climate change”.
“The commitment expressed in this declaration means that we (the hydropower sector) recognise the social, environmental and economic impacts of hydropower development towards affected stakeholders, hence the drive to properly manage them so that this development is more beneficial than detrimental,” he said during Program Jelajah Penerangan dan Penjelasan Isu-isu Semasa organised by Unit Komunikasi Awam Sarawak (UKAS) in Kuching on 11 March 2024.
Mr Irwan added that the need for a greener, more tenable energy generation through hydropower comes as it remains the largest renewable energy source, according to the International Energy Agency, making it instrumental in achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Overall, efforts towards a sustainable hydropower in Sarawak is part of SEB’s commitment to sustainability, where it aligns itself with international, national and state requirements in its aspiration towards becoming a regional energy powerhouse.
These requirements include:
- The UN Sustainable Development Goals;
- Malaysia’s National Energy Policy 2022-2040; National Energy Transition Roadmap; 12th Malaysia Plan; Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill, 2023; and
- Sarawak’s Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030; Environment (Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Emission) Bill, 2023.
Meeting standards of these goals, strategies and laws are necessary, stated Mr Irwan, for they are “future requirements” that investors will take account of when assessing Sarawak’s potential for energy investment, specifically with regards to the socio-economic and environmental sustainability of its development projects.
