Towards a green economy
Participants of the Green Growth Think Tank Workshop on 15 May 2012 in front of The Shine Dome Building, Canberra, Australia.
A workshop (Think Tank) and field visit on green growth in Australia organized by the Australian Academy of Science in conjunction with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia has just been concluded. The workshop and field visits were fully sponsored by the Australian-Malaysian Institute (AMI). The three-day event (15 to 17 of May 2012) was jointly organised by ICSU ROAP with the help of the Australian Academy of Science and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, involved researchers (natural and social sciences) and business and industry representatives from both countries. The event aimed to enhance exchange of knowledge, awareness and interest in green growth strategies in both countries, and increase their ability to jointly engage in activities that promote the greening of the economy in Malaysia and Australia. The green economy is one of the two themes of the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 summit that will be held on 20 - 22 June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Think Tank provided the opportunity for researchers from both countries to explore possible future collaboration, and to share cutting edge developments in strategic areas relating to green growth. It enabled initial discussions between a core group scientists, decision makers, business and industry representatives from Malaysia and Australia on the development of green growth initiatives for both countries. Nine papers were presented, three by Malaysians and six by the Australians. The Malaysian delegation was represented by Dato’ Ghazali Dato’ Mohd Yusoff from Nusatek Industries, Associate Professor Abdul Hadi Harman Shah and Associate Professor Dr. Ahmad Fariz Mohamed both from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Field visits were organized to facilitate exchange of knowledge on renewable energy and solar cell technologies in Australia and Malaysia. This included visits to companies conducting research and development for dye solar cell technology, and with photo-voltaic renewable energy technology. A visit was also made to the materials research facilities of New South Wales University where a brief but detailed tour was given of its solar and renewable technology research and sustainable materials research technologies. A tour was made to the TYREE: Energy Technologies Building a new building in the University. It was built based entirely on the need to prioritize the use of renewable energy and materials. Discussions were also held with Sustainable Business Australia (SBA) that links research in universities to business and industry.
The workshop and field visits provided good insights on the accomplishments of Australian universities, research institutes, business and industries in developing, promoting and taking the renewable energy and solar energy technologies to the current level of achievement. It pointed to potential future directions for the development of joint research and collaboration between Malaysia and Australia towards promoting a greener economy in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia and the Pacific.
