THE Selangor government through its local councils has planted 62,645 trees as a move to reduce carbon emission in the state. Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari said this during the national-level World Town Planning Day (WTPD) celebration which was hosted by Selangor this year. Amirudin said Selangor would continue its efforts to promote sustainable development. “To encourage more sustainable development activities, the state will have two new committees which are the Sustainable Smart Selangor Committee and Selangor City Resilient Coordinating Committee,” Amirudin told a press conference after the event held at Dataran Kemerdekaan in Shah Alam. He said the state government through Selangor Economic Action Council (MTES) had conducted a research on the impact of the rising sea level on the Selangor coastline. “We will be affected by the rising sea level by the year 2100. We will go through the report and discuss what actions can be taken to tackle this problem. The WTPD celebration was organised by PLANMalaysia (Federal Town and Country Planning Department) in collaboration with Shah Alam City Council and PLANMalaysia@Selangor (Selangor Town and Country Planning Department). Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad, who was also present at the event, said this was the second time he was involved in the celebration since PLANMalaysia was placed under his ministry last year. “Last year it was celebrated in Alor Setar, Kedah, and I am happy that this year we are celebrating it in Shah Alam,” said Khalid, who is also the MP for Shah Alam. Khalid said grassroots awareness principle or “bottom-up” procedures should be followed in order to achieve sustainable growth development. “Good coordination and integration between local councils, federal and state departments, the private sector’s involvement as well as support from the community are key elements for the programme to succeed,” said Khalid who also introduced the new logo for Malaysia Town Planner Board. PLANMalaysia director Datuk Mohd Anuar Maidin said this year’s theme for WTPD was “Green and Community: Together Is Better”. “Green represents our ambition to reduce greenhouse gases released by 50% in 2040,” he said. “As for community, it represents a society that works together with the Government to create an inclusive and resilient community,” said Anuar, adding that PLANMalaysia had been giving out Green Neighbourhood Awards since 2012. “The programme is a platform to bring green neighbourhoods that are sustainable and conducive to reality,” he said. Also present at the event were Selangor state secretary Datuk Mohd Amin Ahmad Ahya, state housing and urban living chairman Haniza Talha, Federal Territories Ministry deputy secretary Datuk Rosida Jaafar, Shah Alam mayor Datuk Harris Kasim and PLANMalaysia@Selangor director Dr Shamsaini Shamsuddin. Visitors to the event participated in Fun Walk, Treasure Hunt, Senamrobik, tree planting, dodge ball, and Beyblade and also patronised booths and food trucks during the WTPD celebration.