Policy Implications for Climate Change Adaptation in Malaysia

This chapter addresses the study findings in contrast to other literature; the findings specifically show that climate change will have detrimental consequences for Malaysia that may be mitigated by adaptation policies. This chapter demonstrates that the gains outweigh the associated costs for each time segment considered in the research simulation. Given the relevance of the food sector to the Malaysian economy, this chapter assesses the effects of climate change and attempts to identify the best response strategy to support the country’s agro-food sustainability. The following main research questions are addressed: (i) determine appropriate adaptation options with estimated costs for a sustainable food sector based on climate change and its impacts, (ii) assess appropriate adaptation policies based on estimated costs of adaptation with correct tools to support a sustainable future policies, and (iii) minimize the gap between climate change and targeted food sustainability. The majority of climate change impacts on the food market, as well as its climate-related policy choices, are either global or international, according to the published literature. As a result, when deciding on suitable adaptation actions to take for Malaysia’s long-term food security policies, it is important to determine the viability of a given adaptation strategy on a country-by-country basis. This study shows that through continuing economic practices (e.g., triggering climate change) with elevated gross risk values, varying levels of adaptation choices (5–20%) will keep the food security problem alive over time. Given the value of the food sector to the Malaysian economy, this chapter assesses the effects of climate change and attempts to identify the best response strategy to promote long-term food sustainability.