Green Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction Rawshan Ara Begum* 1 , Institute of Environment and Development, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia *Corresponding Author: 1rawshan@ukm.my Ibrahim Komoo 2 and Jacqueline Pereira 3 Southeast Asian Disaster Prevention Research, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia 2ikomoo@yahoo.com; 3joy@ukm.com Abstract— Malaysia launched the National Green Technology Policy in 2009 that emphasised for Malaysia to go green for entrepreneurs, industrialists, inventors and consumers, citing global concerns to adopt and embrace sustainable and renewable best practices. The green technology strategy would achieve the objective of reducing total carbon emissions by 15% and total emissions per GDP by 40% by the year 2020 compared to 2005 levels and catalyzing Malaysia’s capability and capacity for innovation in green technology development. The paper highlights an overview of national green technology policy and disaster risk reduction. It also attempts to provide a connection of green technology (energy efficient and renewable energy) strategy as well as disaster risk reduction and the extent that green technologies can offer risk management benefits for insurance industry to expand their involvement in the green technology marketplaces. However, the systemic promotion of green technologies need to be encouraged as an element of a new insurance paradigm based on sustainable development and the prevention of losses from disasters. With the potentials of business and innovation opportunity of green technology development, Malaysia could be a regional player in the green investment market. Keywords— Green technology: disaster risk reduction; Investment; insurance industry I. INTRODUCTION There has been an increasing trend in the occurrence of natural disasters and it is expected that climate change will aggravate the devastating impacts of disasters. Several effective strategies particularly through the application of green technologies could be used to strength resilience for both of disaster and climate change. In July 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Haji Abdul Razak launched National Green Technology Policy (NGTP) under the new ministry, Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water which replaced the former Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications. In his launched speech, Dato’ Sri Najib emphasised for Malaysia to go green for entrepreneurs, industrialists, inventors and consumers, citing global concerns to adopt and embrace sustainable and renewable best practices. He has also given more importance to facilitate the growth of the green technology industry that was named as one of the key drivers that would contribute to the national economy. This strategy would achieve the objective of reducing total carbon emissions by 15% and reducing total emissions per GDP by 40% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels and catalyzing Malaysia’s capability and capacity for innovation in green technology development. The paper highlights an overview of national green technology policy and disaster risk reduction. It also attempts to provide a connection of green technology (energy efficient and renewable energy) strategy as well as disaster risk reduction and the extent that green technologies can offer risk management benefits for insurance industry to expand their involvement in the green technology marketplaces. The subject matter of this article is in line with the overarching theme of the forthcoming Fourth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea in October, 2010. The conference will be delineating “Disaster Risk Reduction for Climate Change Adaptation", with a particular focuses on 1) the convergence of DRR and climate change adaptation and 2) available information technology and green technology. The authors look forward to the conference deliberations that will collectively find ways and means to reduce disaster risks through applications of green technology strategies. II. NATIONAL GREEN TECHNOLOGY POLICY According to the NGTP, green technology is the development and application of products, equipment, and systems used to conserve the natural environment and resources, which minimises and reduces the negative impact of human activities [1]. Green Technology refers to products, equipment, or systems which satisfy the following criteria such as i) it minimises the degradation of the environment; ii) it has a zero or low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission; iii) it is safe for use and promotes healthy and improved environment for all forms of life; iv) it conserves the use of energy and natural resources; and v) it promotes the use of renewable resources. The national goals of the Green Technology Policy is to provide direction and motivation for Malaysians to continuously enjoy good quality living and a healthy environment. To achieve the national goals of green technology policy, NGTV manifested significant progress and major improvements in the four key areas as shown in Table 1. The NGTP is a way forward to a sustainable environment to ensure better quality of life and to create the right business culture for continued economic growth of the nation. Details information about the NGTP can be obtained 279 2010 International Conference on Biology, Environment and Chemistry IPCBEE vol.1 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore