KUALA LUMPUR: The Center for Market Education (CME) has lauded the government's commitment to energy transition platform.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli had previously said that Malaysia is set to adopt nuclear power generation as one of its energy sources in the coming years.
According to Rafizi, nuclear power is a cleaner energy source compared to others, which could help the country achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
"CME is glad to see the government committed to an energy transition platform that is non-ideological, but rather based on science and on the recognition that green sustainability must walk together with economic sustainability, making people better off and not worse off," said CME chief executive officer Dr. Carmelo Ferlito.
CME had previously highlighted six recommendations for Malaysia's energy transition in its policy paper titled 'Energy Transition in Malaysia: An Ecomodernist Approach.'
They include making the transition to nuclear energy, phasing out inefficient subsidies, uncaping FiT policy, and implementing regulatory sandboxes, which are partial deregulation initiatives that can spur innovation and improve consumer support and public awareness of energy issues.
"These policies will help Malaysia achieve both economic growth and environmental progress; this is the twin benefit of an eco-modernist approach, as opposed to radical environmentalism common today that divorces both goals," said Ferlito.
CME said nuclear energy has by far the highest energy output of all alternatives. For comparison, a single pellet of uranium weighing six grams contains the same amount of energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 149 pounds of oil, or one tonne of coal.
"At the same time, nuclear energy is one of the cleanest forms of energy in terms of emissions produced. When compared to other sources of energy, carbon dioxide emissions per gigawatt per hour produced from nuclear energy are the lowest.
"This is an important point, because it illustrates the central feature of eco-modernism: the use of technology to decouple human development from its environmental impacts. Nuclear is a highly promising option in this regard, especially considering the latest progress made on fusion," it added.