Kuala Lumpur : Amid deadly floods that have displaced nearly 70,000 people this month, the environment ministry in Malaysia said they are seeking $3 million from the U.N. Green Climate Fund (GCF) to develop a national plan to adapt to climate change. The country has pledged to spend on flood mitigation efforts, the funds requested are paltry relative to the amount that is required for this effort.

Torrential rain has caused severe flooding that killed at least 48 people in eight Malaysian states since December 18. Secretary-General Zaini Ujang responded to questions sent to the Environment and Water Ministry on Dec. 20, that the ministry will request the GCF funds to help develop a National Adaptation Plan by the end of next year.

The plan will focus on areas such as water, agricultural, and food security, public health, forestry, and infrastructure, Zaini said in a written response.

The GCF funds are the first time the Malaysian government has sought any money for climate adaptation, which are policies that a country puts in place to deal with climate change effects. The funds pale in comparison to the 9.8 billion ringgit ($2.33 billion) for flood mitigation projects such as building water barriers, catchment areas, and deepening rivers that Zaini said Malaysia has set aside already.

In 2018, Yeo Bee Yin, Malaysia's then-environment minister, proposed a so-called Climate Change Act along with an adaptation strategy but a formal plan was never submitted to the parliament and progress faltered amid political turmoil in 2020.

Malaysia typically has flooding on its eastern coasts that are exposed to the northeast monsoon between October and March. But authorities were caught off-guard by unusually heavy rainfall and flooding this month in highly-populated urban areas in its western and central regions, which some experts say were worsened by poor drainage and overdevelopment.
Source:Reuters