23/01/2013 (Bernama) - The World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) hopes that financial institutions will from now on attach sustainability as one of the criteria in their lending and investment conditions.

This is especially with regard to natural resource extraction activities in the forest and oil palm sectors, it said in a statement today.

WWF-Malaysia, the country's conservation trust, also hoped that financial institutions would assume a key role in developing a low carbon economy as it would eventually have huge pay-offs globally.

Its Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma, said WWF-Malaysia would aim to reduce the national carbon footprint and advocate for the development of renewable energy.

As Malaysia moved towards becoming a developed nation by 2020, he said various development plans must go hand-in-hand with sustainable management of the country's natural resources and biodiversity conservation.

Dr Sharma said rapid urbanisation and industrialisation tended to result in issues related to rising carbon emission from transportation and industrial sources, low investment and take-up rate in renewable energy generation and energy efficiency practices.