PETALING JAYA: The federal government has agreed to enact a carbon trading law which will be based on Sarawak’s legislation on the matter, says Abang Johari Openg.
The Sarawak premier said his deputy, Douglas Uggah Embas, was informed of this during last week’s national finance council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Abang Johari said Malaysia has a great opportunity to get involved in carbon trading with global shipping lines moving away from fossil fuel and using green methanol.
He said Sarawak was fortunate to be one of the front runners in this area, with the necessary carbon trading law already enacted.
“However, I have informed the prime minister that we cannot do it alone as a state. It has to be a national policy. And I told the prime minister that the federal government must introduce the law quickly.
“And I was informed lately – Uggah represented me at one of the meetings – that the prime minister will introduce the (federal) law, that will be based on our law.
“So they are sending their people to study and incorporate our law into a federal law,” he told reporters after the state government’s Hari Raya open house in Kuching this afternoon.
Sarawak became the first Malaysian state to enact legislation related to carbon trading in November last year, after the state assembly passed the Environment (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction) Bill 2023.
The bill is aimed at mitigating climate change and paved the way for Sarawak to earn revenue through the trade or sale of carbon credits.
Abang Johari said Sarawak’s carbon laws were comprehensive and were based on recommendations from the World Bank.
He added that the federal laws were needed because carbon trading involved government-to-government agreements, which Sarawak in itself could not be a part of since it was only a state.
The Sarawak premier pointed out that Singapore and Indonesia had already signed a letter of intent on cross-border carbon capture and storage in 2022.
“So, for Malaysia to move forward, they must have these legal parameters for us to get involved in the international trade on carbon as well as to mitigate carbon emissions. Because climate change is serious.”
Meanwhile, Bernama reported that a coordination meeting involving various ministries and federal agencies will be held after Hari Raya Aidilfitri to expedite the implementation of carbon-related legislation in the country.
“The meeting will look at how we can expedite the introduction of laws not only for renewable energy but also for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS),” deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof was quoted as saying.
While Sarawak has already passed carbon-related legislation, Fadillah said these regulations were not yet established at the federal level.
“That is why we are calling for this meeting so that we can coordinate the existing laws in Sarawak as a basis for developing federal legislation,” he said. - FMT
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