Emissions from electricity generation in Malaysia

Emissions in the process utilization produce adverse effects on the environment that influence human health, organism growth, climatic changes and so on. The Kyoto protocol, produced by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCC) in December 1997, prescribed a legally binding greenhouse gas emission target about 5% below their 1990 level. About 160 countries including Malaysia now adopt this protocol. Electricity generation is one of the main contributors to emissions in the country. In order to calculate the potential emissions produced by this activity, the type of fuel use should be identified. Malaysia hopes to gradually change fuel use from 70% gas, 15% coal, 10% hydro, and 5% petroleum in the year 2000 to 40% gas, 30% hydro, 29% coal, and only 1% petroleum by the year 2020. The changes in fuel type have changed the pattern of emission production. This study attempts to predict the pattern of emissions from 2002 to 2020 due to the changes in fuel use. The calculation is based on emissions for unit electricity generated and the percentages of fuel use for electricity generation. The study found that the electricity generation company has produced huge emissions from their power plants in this country. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.