KUCHING: At the current rate of greenhouse emission into the atmosphere, human civilisation can only exist for another 1,000 years, predicts Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri Dr James Dawos.
He said among the major contributors of the greenhouse gas is the emission of carbon dioxide from vehicles and deforestation worldwide.
“At the present rate of greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere, humankind can only withstand the increasingly extreme climatic change for about 1,000 years,” Dawos told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He lamented that though presently there were many treaties on the cutting down of greenhouse gas almost none of the signatories took them seriously.
“Currently, the countries which emit the most amount of greenhouse gas annually are the United States at 30 per cent, followed by China at 28 per cent and other developed countries,” revealed Dawos, adding that the total greenhouse gas emission annually is 40 billion metric tons.
He said Malaysia too is partly to be blamed as it is emitting some 0.6 per cent or 267 million metric tons of greenhouse gas annually mostly due to deforestation and carbon emission from vehicles and industries.
“The global climate change is a serious issue which must be tackled by all. In Malaysia we are already experiencing extreme climatic change such as the current dry weather which started from February,” he said.
Dawos, who is Sarawak’s former Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) controller, said even if all present human activities such as industries and usage of vehicles were to be stopped immediately, it would take at least 200 years for the environment to come back to its normalcy again.
He said due to the increasing global warming caused by emission of greenhouse gas, icebergs in both the North Pole and South Pole have melted and contributed to the increasing sea level of up to 1.85 mm per year.
“At the current rate, small islands such as the Maldives will have their coastlines shrinking annually due mainly due to the increasing global sea-water level,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Dawos said due to the extreme weather patterns, Malaysia is already experiencing a drop in rice and oil palm production which would cost the nation a few hundred million ringgits a year.
“Besides that there is already an increase in the number of cases of diseases such as dengue fever due to clogged water and drains in our major towns. This is directly due to the effect of global warming, as the weather pattern is getting very unpredictable,” added the Mambong MP.