SYNOPSIS

The world is on a path to transition away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy to address environmental pollution, global warming, and energy insecurity. However, unless such a transition occurs quickly, efficiently, and most everywhere, the world risks substantially increased mortality, warming, and economic instability compared with today.

Most scientists recognize that solutions to these problems must be implemented rapidly. Every year indoor and outdoor air pollution continues, and a few million children and adults die from it. If at least 80 per cent of emissions that cause global warming are not eliminated by next 2030, and if 100 per cent are not eliminated by 2050, globally averaged temperatures will likely rise at least 1.5C above those in the early 1900s. This will likely trigger more glacier and sea-ice melting, sea level rise, coastal flooding, severe storminess, wildfires, air pollution mortality, heat-related mortality, drought, famine, agricultural shifts, climate migration, species extinction, coral reef damage, and more. In addition, if limited-resource fossil fuels are not replaced with sustainable clean, renewable energy, energy prices will probably rise dramatically, causing economic, social, and political instability worldwide.

Energy from the wind (onshore wind, offshore wind, and airborne wind electricity), water (hydro, tidal and ocean current, wave, and geothermal electricity and geothermal heat), and sunlight [solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity, concentrated solar power (CSP) electricity and heat, and captured solar heat (solar thermal)]. It needs to power all energy sectors, which means electricity, transportation, building heating/cooling, industry, agriculture/forestry/fishing, and the military. Whereas human-designed energy systems cause about 95 per cent of anthropogenic (human-produced) air pollution and 75 per cent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

Why 100 per cent clean, renewable energy and storage for everything? Why not 50 cents, 80 per cent, or 99 per cent? The first reason is that the health plus climate cost of every tonne of air pollution, down to the last tonne, is so enormous that it outweighs other uses of the money required to remove the pollution. More importantly, one more person should not die or become ill from air pollution. Species extinction, global-warming-driven wildfires, supercharged hurricanes, and smog should no longer occur. Gas wells, coal mines, oil pipelines, gas stations, coal-fired power plants, gas storage reservoirs, diesel cars, jet fuel aeroplanes, and bunker fuel ships should no longer be needed. Nuclear power plant meltdowns and nuclear waste pileups should no longer occur. We don’t want to drink chemicals in our water due to oil, gas, coal, or uranium mining leaks. We don’t want to see more wars over fossil fuels. We don’t want any more oil spills devastating the oceans, lakes, or rivers. Blackouts due to reliance on centralized power plants should be a thing of the past. Plus, we want to eliminate high energy prices that arise from fuel shortages and the need to transport fossil fuels long distances.

Can society reach the goal of 100 per cent? This half-day course will discuss this transition and address air pollution, global warming, and energy security simultaneously. Can we conclude whether the transition among all energy and non-energy sectors worldwide is technically and economically possible or not?


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

Ir. NOOR IZIDDIN ABDULLAH BIN GHAZALI

Ir. Noor Iziddin Abdullah Bin Ghazali has more than 18 years of technical and leadership roles in the following industries: semiconductor, property, data center & telecom. He previously led sustainability energy programs at 22 government hospitals. Initially in a semiconductor with Spansion then MIMOS. Subsequently to data center development at Cyberjaya for Google, Deutsche Bank, TM, NTT, Petronas, and BMW. Then attach to Mesiniaga as Project Manager for Cisco network implementations at Petronas.

Next with Putrajaya Holdings for the development of green buildings. After that as Electrical Manager at Sunway Property overseeing the M&E projects. Later with edotco (Axiata) as the Regional Head overseeing energy projects in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan & Cambodia using a remote energy monitoring system. Then as Program Manager 4G/LTE modernization with Huawei & Ericsson. Subsequently as the Dean, of Engineering Faculty at UNIMY before joining Medivest as the Head of the Sustainable Energy Program.

Before this managing a clean energy supply & demand (electricity, fuel & water) portfolio at Westports Holdings. Followed by setting up a solar energy & energy storage subsidiary at Worldwide Holdings Berhad. Currently as the Senior Energy Advisor at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH from the German agency for Kuala Lumpur city authority. The current focus will be on Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy (RE) project implementation (planning and execution) for the overall Kuala Lumpur city is to be benchmarked with a few dozen megacities around the world in terms of climate change and sustainability. With more than two dozen locations around KL city to implement this clean energy project simultaneously including potential district cooling.

As the energy advisor and project management consultant in the clean energy sector. Ir. Noor Iziddin Abdullah Bin Haji Ghazali carries out work related to low carbon activities in supporting UN SDG and ESG agenda based on Kuala Lumpur Climate Action Plan (KL CAP 2050) & Dasar Tenaga Negara (DTN) 2022-2040 besides Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap (MyRER).