Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj

Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj lost his seat in the last election but he is exhilarated that the change of government in Malaysia has permitted a new optimism.
Vivien Langford  asks him how a new Bandung Spirit would unleash strong climate action.  While waiting and waiting for UN green funds maybe ASEAN nations can work together for a new dispensation.
He says Malaysia shouldn’t have to cut its health budget to plant trees for carbon sequestration. The funds to help developing countries tackle climate change are insufficient but he says even the developed nations are cash strapped and unable to help while their top 0 .1% of wealthy corporations  evade tax.  Malaysians are already experiencing intensified floods and heatwaves.
They produce only 70% of their food so Dr Devaraj has many solutions to protect the population:  from flood mitigation to guaranteeing that land is used to produce food first.  He is hopeful that new bold laws will enable restoration of forests,  rivers and farmlands.  Malaysians have witnessed that the unexpected can happen in government and the  lesson we can draw is to prepare for the unexpected. Have the projects and blueprints ready. This fits in with the reasoning  behind Beyond Zero Emissions and broadens our awareness to our near neighbour. You can read a talk given by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj in Kuala Lumpur here.

Dr Hugh Hunt

Dr Hugh Hunt was involved in a Cambridge University project called SPICE. (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering)  He is a reader in Engineering Dynamics and Vibration and feels that even environmentalists are disconnected from the carbon footprint of our economy . He talked to Vivien Langford at the Climate Adaptation Conference.  If we are unwilling to change our own behaviour such as flying, which for every hour in the air emits 100 kilos of CO2, shouldn’t we start talking about cooling the Arctic to buy time?  It is a hard conversation to have.  He does not want to see climate engineering but thinks we should build up our knowledge of what could go wrong.
Dr Hugh Hunt’s research into the effects of climate engineering is ON HOLD because of ethical concerns.
Yet where are the ethical concerns which would make us STOP before before flying or filling up a car with petrol?
Imagine you had to dispose of 25 white suitcases filled with CO2 after a long hall flight. These videos explain it for adults and children.
Imagine you are a world leader. You think it would be electoral suicide to ration fossil fuels and phase them out, so you dream about climate engineering to buy time.
What could go wrong ?
Are these videos a nudge in the right direction?

Radio Team : Andy Britt – Producer, Roger Vize- Podcasts, Vivien Langford – Interviews