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Please Check Against Delivery
THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
22 JUNE 2012, RIO DE JANEIRO
THE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL
STATEMENT BY
THE HONOURABLE
DATO’ SRI DOUGLAS UGGAH EMBAS
MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT, MALAYSIA
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Your Excellency MadamDilmaRousseff
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil and President of the
Conference
Excellencies, Heads of Government and Heads of State
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. Firstly, the Malaysian delegation would like to express our sincere
appreciation to the Government and people of Brazil, for the warm
hospitality and excellent arrangements for this summit in this beautiful
city of Rio de Janeiro.
Madam President,
2. Two decades ago the foundation was set by leaders for a
sustainable development blueprint. In the intervening years, we have
attempted to develop according to that blueprint.
3. Malaysia’s commitment to sustainable development is articulated
through its national development plans includingthe Tenth Malaysia
Plan, 2011-2015. The New Economic Model which underlines the longterm
development framework for Malaysia constitutes the three pillars,
namely, sustainability, inclusivity and high-income, which mirror the
three pillars of sustainable development.
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Madam President,
4. At the Earth Summit in 1992, Malaysia made a pledge to keep at
least 50 per cent of its land as forest cover. To date, Malaysia’s forest
cover stands at 56.4% of total land area. In addition, six areas have been
listed as Ramsar Sites and 44 islands have been gazetted as marine
parks.
5. At the 15th COP of the UNFCCC in Copenhagen in 2009, Malaysia
offered to voluntarily reduce its emissions intensity of GDP by up to 40
per cent compared with 2005 levels by 2020, contingent upon
technology transfer and financial support from developed countries.
Although the needed support has not materialized, Malaysia with her
limited capacity and capability has taken steps toward meeting that
voluntary pledge.In addition, Malaysia is developing a long-term
roadmap toward a low-carbon society. Among the initiatives that are
already in place is the Feed-in Tariff to promote the use of renewable
energy. Malaysia’s target is to increase the share of renewable energy in
the fuel mix to 10% by 2020.
Madam President,
6. Malaysia is currently on track to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals or MDGs. In aggregate terms, we are ahead of the deadline of
2015. Notably, it has achieved the MDG objective of eradicating poverty
– which fell from 17 per cent in 1990 to 3.6percent in 2010.Among the
prominent initiatives is the rural development scheme implemented by
the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA). This scheme has
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been successful in elevating the quality of life and bringing social and
economic benefits to 177 thousand families. These families now enjoy
household incomes that substantially exceed the poverty level. It has
also achieved gender parity at all levels of education, surpassing parity
at the global level.
Madam President,
7. The means of implementation – finance, transfer of technology and
capacity building – must be the centrepiece of the Rio+20 outcome. As
for capacity building, it must be premised on the norms of North-South
and South-South cooperation.
8. There should be a re-commitment to new and additional financial
resources for sustainable development. The proposal by the developing
countries to establish an intergovernmental process under the UN
General Assembly, to design and implement an effective Sustainable
Development Financing Strategy is vital in taking us forward.
9. Furthermore, the transfer of environmentally sound technologies,
in particular to developing countries, and, on favourable terms, is
critical in assisting developing countries to achieve sustainable
development. In this regard, we welcome the Rio+20 outcome document,
which establishes a process for a facilitation mechanism to promote the
development, transfer and dissemination of environmentally sound
technologies.
Madam President,
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10. As we leave Rio de Janeiro, let us be absolutely clear - sustainable
development is the only way forward. It is the best policy for peace,
security and prosperity for all mankind, present and future. We have no
other option. It is our collective responsibility to take decisive actionto
build the future we want.
Thank you.
