Green initiatives propel Sarawak to global forefronts, says US economist

KUCHING (Oct 10): Some of the initiatives taken by Sarawak in its quest to progress further into the green economy are placing it at the forefront globally, according to renowned United States economist Prof Joseph Stiglitz.

The 2002 Nobel Prize winner in economics science said Sarawak’s efforts in developing new hydrogen production technologies, as well as green ammonia and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from microalgae, are innovative moves that could accelerate the state’s progress.

“I actually think that by taking advantage of the new hydrogen technology, as Sarawak is doing, you begin to consider ammonia and some of the really creative ideas I have heard about using algae to make aviation fuel. Those are truly innovative concepts that place you at the forefront,” he said.

Speaking at the Sarawak Future Forum today, Stiglitz noted that unlike in the United States, where vested interests in the fossil fuel industry persist, Malaysia, and Sarawak in particular, face fewer obstacles in transitioning to a green economy.

“In a country like Malaysia, a place like Sarawak, those vested interests are not quite so great because you don’t have all those other (fossil fuel) industries. They are the real challenges (to promote green economy),” he said.

While acknowledging that Sarawak is entering the global green economy from a later stage, Stiglitz emphasised that the state has areas of strength that could help it become a leader in this space.

“You (Sarawak) will need to bring in scientists and companies to facilitate the development of the green economy, but I think it is going to be an exciting frontier,” he said.

In the one-and-a-half-hour session, moderated by former CNN foreign correspondent Andrew Stevens, Stiglitz also praised the Sarawak government’s decision to establish a sovereign wealth fund, which he described as a way of transferring wealth from beneath the ground to above it.

He advised that the fund should be preserved for future generations, only to be used in critical situations such as pandemics.

“Eventually, once you build up the fund, paying dividends will sustain outflows from it, but the whole point of a sovereign fund is that it serves as an endowment that lasts forever,” he added.

Sarawak Premier, Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, delivered the keynote address earlier in the one-day forum, which was organised by the Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence (SCOPE), a subsidiary of the Sarawak Foundation, and attracted around 500 participants. – Bernama