Syaqil Suhaimi: Lobbying for Equity in the Fight against Climate Change 🇲🇾
Climate change has global consequences and thus, the need exists for international climate change events such as the Conference of the Parties (COP), where world governments convene annually to forge a worldwide response to the crisis. However, the direction of the dialogues is often dictated by those from the global north, an issue that Syaqil Suhaimi is working to change.
Syaqil is a climate change advocate based in the bustling state of Selangor, Malaysia, and has been actively involved with the Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD) since 2017. MYD is a platform that enables young Malaysians to have their voices heard with regards to climate change. While Syaqil’s advocacy journey had only officially begun five years ago, his interests in environmental issues developed much earlier. As a result, he pursued an undergraduate degree in environmental science to satisfy his insatiable curiosity in fields such as waste management, energy, forest conservation and climate change. Syaqil was introduced to MYD by his university seniors who had taken similar courses and were already associated with the organisation. Coincidentally, he was also searching for work experience that would help determine what specific industry he wanted to work in. Syaqil was grateful to have the opportunity to foster his passion in climate policy and public diplomacy through MYD, and it is safe to say that he has never looked back.
Syaqil’s Approach to Creating Impact
The most important lesson from Syaqil’s climate journey is that there is a lack of representation of young people from developing nations in the global South regarding international climate policy discussions. This is very concerning, especially given that current and future communities from the global South are more likely to be severely impacted by the crisis. As an MYD delegate, he attended the 23rd and 24th COPs in Germany and Poland, respectively, which allowed him to reinforce the essential representation of developing nations on a global scale. On a national scale, Syaqil has also successfully led the MYD team in consulting and revising Malaysia’s nationally determined contributions as part of the Paris Agreement. This opportunity was a significant milestone for MYD, as it was the first and only youth organisation to be invited to contribute to the national climate goals. Syaqil is also affiliated with MyHutan, an organisation that lobbies for forest conservation through financial mechanisms. Outside of his climate activist life, he is also a renewable energy professional, endlessly dedicating his life to improving Malaysia's environmental scene.
The Unseen Reality of an Activist’s Life
However, Syaqil’s journey in climate activism was not as smooth as one might imagine. In fact, one of his biggest hurdles occurred early on during his first COP in 2017. Prior to the conference in Germany, he explicitly recalled his seniors warning the delegates how chaotic it would be, directly comparing the event to a circus even! Syaqil didn’t comprehend the full gravity of their warning until he experienced it himself.
He soon realised that comparing the event to a circus was an understatement. It felt more like “a circus on steroids.” Alongside the accumulated stress from event preparation, he became overwhelmed. He was exhausted; he couldn’t handle it anymore. He eventually went to clear his mind by a river to distract himself and regain energy. Syaqil later learned that it was natural to burn out in activism and that it was okay to take a break.
“Activism isn’t a 100-metre sprint; it’s a marathon. It’s important that we listen to ourselves and know whether we still have the capacity to go on. But just because we take a break, it doesn’t mean we’re stopping ourselves from contributing to the cause.”
But what other factors keep him going in the endless fight against climate change? When I posed the question to Syaqil, he pondered over the question for quite some time. While it may seem like a cliché answer, he responded that knowing that the young and future generation will have a chance motivates him to keep his head up. Due to the lack of action from previous generations, he stresses how it will ultimately be our generation that will face the brunt of the climate crisis. Therefore, Syaqil is convinced that he must take action. In addition to providing a platform for other young Malaysians to lobby the government, he also believes in taking individual actions such as reducing meat intake and taking public transportation. Put simply by Syaqil himself – “If we don’t take ownership of this issue, who will?”
The Future: Bleak or Bright?
The climate crisis may seem daunting, but Syaqil believes that we must remain hopeful. Yet there must still be improvements on both a local and global scale, and this comes from having more discussions on adaptation compared to the more commonly focused-upon mitigation side of climate action. He argues for focusing the narrative on the impacts of the crisis for the less privileged and building resilience within sectors that focus on food, water, and medical security to adapt to more extreme weather in the near future.
More importantly, he stresses that equity must be emphasised whenever we work on the climate crisis. He says that we must ensure that assistance is coming from developed countries according to the polluter's pay principle. Therefore, he advises young environmentalists in the global South to learn the context of climate change in their respective countries. As it is formally enshrined in the Paris Agreement that developed nations must provide financial aid to developing countries to address the crisis, young environmentalists from developing nations can and must push for that supporting finance from the global north.
“It is important to not be swept by the global narrative of climate change because we need to be cognizant of the fact that this is an element that is dominated by young people from the global north. Whatever they lobby for may not necessarily represent what young people from developing nations should be pushing for.”
Syaqil aspires to work professionally in the climate policy and advocacy sector on a full-time basis. He also wishes to dive into a different side of the climate crisis, particularly the economic and social side. In line with his ambitions, he hopes to complete a postgraduate degree in the economics of public policy. The fight for equity in global climate discussions is lengthy, but committed advocates like Syaqil gives everyone a reason for hope.
Written by Chanel Ng
