Brunei and the Environment

On a snowy yet sunny Sunday morning, I was happily sipping my Earl Grey Tea and enjoying the snow covered scenery outside my window while on my way to perform my routine early morning update of the Brunei news. Having been well entertained by the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit over the past week, I was up for another shock when I read what was on the frontpage of Sunday Borneo Bulletin (20/12/2009).

If you're interested, http://www.borneobulletin.com.bn/sunday/news/dec20h1.htm

Let me first start of by commenting on Dato’s comment that ‘any number per capita can get a bit funny’. Surely this is a significant demographic measure of the country. In fact, to some extent, it gives a better picture of how a country is doing. To put things in context, Brunei currently produces about 170 000 bbl/day of crude oil. Is this a lot? Well, Singapore, without any primary resources whatsoever, refines at least 500 000 bbl/day of crude oil. We do not see Singaporeans having free medical care, education, etc. If it weren’t for our small population, allowing a high GDP per capita, surely we would not be able to enjoy the privileges have today.

Acknowledging that we are fortunate to have a high GDP per capita, surely one would have to agree that the ‘per capita’ numbers are in fact not that ‘funny’. It means that we cannot ignore and even dismiss the fact that we, as an entire population, are the highest polluter of CO₂ per capita in the region. I appreciate that the Deputy Minister was able to outline some of the sources of the CO₂ in the country (oil production etc). However informative this is, it doesn’t change our CO₂ per capita numbers. It might answer why and it might point us in the direction of where to cut such numbers, but we have to first acknowledge that we are a population creating huge environmental impact per capita.

I believe there is really no need to be defensive over our emissions. I find it disheartening to read that Dato is not acknowledging the country’s greenhouse gases emissions on the basis that we have carbon sinks in our peat swamps and rainforests. While it is true that we have a carbon sink, it doesn’t negate the fact that we pollute. Would one encourage Bruneians to spend their money thoughtlessly if they have a ‘guaranteed’ source of salary? Similarly, dismissing such figures would have large implications on the nation’s attitude towards the environment. Admitting our mistakes has always been taught as a noble act; what harm is there to say ‘yes, we have a high CO₂ emission per capita. Let’s try and (or We are already trying to) do something about it’?

Humans have inertia and so does the population. When sacrificing certain convenience and comfort for the sake of our ‘future generations’, it is not always intuitive. I, myself, am no exception from the grasps of such selfish thoughts. Carpooling is definitely possible, but might cause some slight inconvenience and requires patience at times. Petrol, vehicles and road tax are cheap in Brunei, so ‘why bother?’ This is why we need wise policy makers and a good government, whom the population have been entrusted to, to take up initiatives to nudge the population in the right direction.

Many have labelled the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit as a failure. The world today strives on capitalism. The human brain is instinctively wired to want more, to think ‘more’ is better, more stimulating, more rewarding. Countries pointed fingers at each other, playing the ‘you play I play’ game. Perhaps it is time to look inwards and reflect. A paradigm shift of such unhealthy mentality is required and it is a personal hope that the people of Brunei, through our education, vision and national philosophy, achieve this together as a nation.

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On a totally independent note, but you can say, related, here's a glimpse of what postgraduate students are trying to do for the country. If you're interested or if you have the resources to participate, please do contact the Bruneian Postgraduate Symposium. =)

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For future reference,

20/12/2009

Fact or myth shocker (By Azaraimy HH)

Brunei has been the proud recipient of countless praises from the international community for its conservation and global warming mitigation initiatives and agenda.

But a recent report tells an entirely different story. According to a report published by the Inter Press Service on December 18, "On a per capita basis, a different picture emerges. With 7.2 tonne of CO2 per capita, Malaysia is still the third highest emitter in Southeast Asia. Brunei tops the list at 15.5 tonnes per capita, followed by Singapore with 12.8 tonnes. Thailand (4.3 tonnes) and Indonesia (1.5 tonnes) occupy fourth and fifth places respectively".

In a telephone conversation with the Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources and Chairman of the Heart of Borneo project, Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah bin Hj Abdul Wahab explained "You have to be very careful on how you frame your story, as you have to be very careful on how they arrived at their calculation - on what basis does Brunei top in terms of CO2 emissions?"

Trained as an engineer in the petroleum industry, the Deputy Minister was troubled with the report that claimed that Brunei emitted 15.5 tonnes of CO2 per capita, topping any other country in Southeast Asia.

According to him, "Firstly, Brunei is a perfect carbon sink - because the sultanate's pristine rainforests and its strong conservation policy (approximately 78 per cent of Brunei's land area is still currently under forest cover), not only that, the country's peat swamp acts as an ultimate carbon store."

Dato Hj Hamdillah went on to point out "The country's peat swamps absorb some five per cent more carbon thanthe forests, and together with our pristine forests - Brunei has an exceptional carbon sink."

"Secondly, although Brunei is an oil-producing country, if you look at it, we export 90 per cent of what we produce - that means that we roughly only consume 10 per cent of our resources."

Therefore, according to him, "This huge carbon sink that we inherited and preserve can easily absorb the 10 per cent. So, to say that Brunei is the largest contributor of CO2 in Southeast Asia, you really have to be very careful on how you absorb that fact."

He offered another logical explanation by saying that as Brunei has a small population relative to its oil and gas production, "any number per capita can get a bit funny".

"Do you say every Bruneian is thousands of dollars better than others since we have such a high per capita income? And similarly, can you really say that Brunei is the highest polluter of CO2 in the region since we have the highest per capita production of oil and gas? It all depends on how you measure it, and you have to be very careful on how you approach this," he reiterated, adding: "Such a calculation, or how they totalled-up their figures should be in line with the international standard."

He went on to include: "And if there is a standard benchmark recognised internationally on any certain nation's share of green house emissions, I think Brunei is very keen to it, so that we can know and act on it."

Dato Hj Hamdillah then listed out certain known facts: "But at the moment what we know is that Brunei Darussalam is one of the countries that does not contribute to the greenhouse gases because the sultanate's pristine forests act as an effective carbon sink. Brunei's peat swamp forests have been cited by numerous scientists as capable of storing carbon in its ecosystem."

"To find out later that we are labelled as the number one contributor of CO2 emitter to the atmosphere is shockingly surprising."

When asked, he offered his personal opinion that Brunei is not, because of the country's various initiatives, undertakings and regulations that protect and preserve the environment.

He added that Brunei has never stopped fulfilling its responsibility to mitigate global warming, but it is not the responsibility of the government alone. "Because more importantly, it is our personal initiative," he said.

"Even me, I will not switch on the lights at my own office unnecessarily, I open the window, I don't take my sweet time in the shower."

According to the deputy minister further on the report, "It is no use this blame game and one shouldn't wait for the authorities to enforce something. If one is aware about the environment, take the initiative to live in a responsible way so that we all can share this world in a sustainable manner."

Dato Hj Hamdillah offered several examples such as carpooling, which is the shared use of a car by the driver and one or more passengers, which according to him can be done effectively here in Brunei.

"Brunei is well-known to have several cars in one family - if one or a group of people go to the same office everyday or go in the same direction, to and fro - you can surely do something to organise some carpooling."

He believed this would further enhance the drive to mitigate against global warming by further limiting greenhouse emission.

In the mitigating adventure, the name of the game, he said is "continuous improvement". He explained that a country should strive to improve its environmental impact by continuously improving its energy efficiency.

"No country would emit zero pollution, and in the case of Brunei, we will continually produce oil and gas."

According to him, in the world we are living in, any effort to reduce global warming emissions must also produce sound business decisions that translate to profitability. "Driving efficiency up could lead to better utilisation of energy as this is the essence of the business in the global warming mitigation strategy."

Dato Hj Hamdillah recounted: "When I was in Shell, we use $120 million worth of energy. Imagine if only we were able to drive up our efficiency and improve just a mere 10 per cent of our energy needs that represents a cost reduction of $1.2 million, which is both profitable and would improve our environmental impact assessment," he said.

However, beyond making business sense out of it, the return of investment must also take into account benefits other than just dollar and cents. "Because producing a sustainable environment for a sustainable future and better quality of life makes out for good business sense."