PETALING JAYA: The Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) has called for faster action to translate climate commitments into practical solutions, with a focus on supporting the energy transition, strengthening climate resilience against floods and enhancing mechanisms to measure and report climate-related outcomes.
The call was made at the JC3’s 17th meeting held on Aug 6, 2026.
Supporting the implementation of the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF), the JC3 has issued NSRF guidance documents for banks, insurers and takaful operators, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Securities Commission in a joint statement.
“The guidance aims to make sustainability-related disclosures more robust, consistent, comparable and purposeful.
“Through practical solutions, the guidance addresses common implementation challenges in sustainability reporting, including risk and opportunity assessments, strategy disclosures, and the use of metrics and targets. Hands-on capacity- building programmes will begin in October 2026 to support implementation.”
Neetasha Rauf, chief sustainability officer of the Securities Commission and co-chair of the JC3, said the NSRF guidance documents will help financial institutions, insurers and takaful operators navigate reporting challenges and support their transition towards high-quality, decision- useful sustainability disclosures.
“It also complements the efforts of the Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting in providing implementation and capacity-building support for scoped-in entities.”
The meeting noted further progress under the Climate Finance Innovation Lab (CFIL), which continues to connect climate- and nature-related projects with funding opportunities.
“Under the second cohort, 22 projects seeking RM1.73bil in funding will undergo a structured accelerator programme in collaboration with the United Nations Global Compact Network Malaysia, Brunei and Cambodia.
“This segment will support business model refinement, impact assessment and funding facilitation. Interested funders are encouraged to engage with CFIL to help scale impactful climate- and nature-related solutions,” said BNM and the Securities Commission.
Members also agreed to fully adopt the Asean Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance as the basis for the Malaysia Taxonomy.
“This marks a significant step towards greater regional interoperability, consistency and comparability in sustainable finance. Additionally, this reduces the operational burden of businesses especially those with cross-border trade.
“The JC3 will develop practical guidance and tools tailored for local implementation,” BNM and the Securities Commission said.
They added that a pilot with selected members will ensue prior to full adoption for reporting in 2028.
The pilot aims to identify implementation challenges and inform further refinements, where necessary.
Meanwhile, Madelena Mohamed, assistant governor of BNM and co-chair of the JC3, noted that a taxonomy is only effective if it can be applied consistently and confidently.
“As Malaysia adopts the Asean taxonomy as the foundation of the Malaysia taxonomy, the JC3 will focus on developing practical implementation guidance and tools to support its use.
“The pilot will help identify operational challenges early and ensure the framework remains fit for purpose and relevant for Malaysia’s needs.”
