October 24, 2017

Plenty more Green Tech Jobs are on the Horizon

Plenty more Green Tech Jobs are on the Horizon

Green businesses are on the rise in Malaysia. Photo Credit: Flickr

Come 2030, there will be 200,000 jobs in all in Malaysia’s green technology sector. An ambitious goal, yes. A worthy one too. To make it happen, the government will invest RM180 billion as part of its Green Technology Master Plan (GTMP).

“The GTMP lays the foundation for a holistic shift in Malaysia’s approach to socio-economic development, while adhering to the principles of sustainability,” Maximus Johnity Ongkili, minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency. “It outlines the action plan and initiatives that cut across six major sectors: energy, manufacturing, building, transport, waste and water.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The master plan, which seeks to create a more resource-efficient economy with a lower carbon footprint, was launched recently by the government. The goal is to foster innovation in green technology and spread the adoption of environmentally business models far and wide across the country. The question, however, is whether the government will indeed follow through on its promises. A word of caution: Whereas Malaysia has made progress in the adoption of alternative energy sources, notably solar power, it continues to lag behind developed nations.

That said, Malaysia may indeed be playing catchup but the government does seem to mean business when it comes to green promoting technology. The country’s Green Technology Financing Scheme aims to help enterprising homegrown green startups and companies establish a foothold in the competitive field of business. Malaysia-based and majority-owned local companies can receive financing for up to 15 years for ventures that employ local or foreign green technology.

Other such financing schemes have already been operating successfully in Malaysia. One prominent such scheme is MyHIJAU, an initiative by the Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (GreenTech Malaysia). Set up in 2012, MyHIJAU seeks to promote green products and services in Malaysia. The scheme’s aim, GreenTech Malaysia explains, is to “encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly practices in the country, while catalysing the growth of Malaysian’s green economy.”

Cheers to that!

 

 

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