Unilateral trade restrictive measures related to climate change will be one of Malaysia’s priorities at the upcoming COP31, says Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup.
“Building on the momentum from COP30 in Belem, Malaysia stands ready to bring a united and solutions-driven voice to COP31 in Antalya, Turkiye,” he said at the soft launch of the Malaysia Pavilion at COP31 during the International Greentech and Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia’s other priorities include advancing the outcomes of the Second Global Stocktake, strengthening Nationally Determined Contributions, advancing the transition away from fossil fuels and operationalising Just Transition and the Global Goal on Adaptation, including the Belem Adaptation Indicators, the minister added.
“These priorities reflect Malaysia’s commitment to a balanced, inclusive and implementation-focused approach, supported by adequate finance, technology, capacity building and international cooperation, particularly taking into account the needs and circumstances of developing countries,” he said.
COP31, officially the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, will be held from Nov 9 to 20. As one of the most influential mechanisms shaping global climate governance, it will see governments and organisations from all over the world coming together to develop shared policies on emissions reduction, climate finance, adaptation and resilience.
Elaborating on Malaysia’s concerns on unilateral trade restrictive measures like the European Union’s (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), NRES Ministry’s climate change division undersecretary Ahmad Farid Mohamed said other countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, have also indicated that they would introduce similar tools.
To reduce carbon leakage, CBAM puts a carbon cost on selected imported goods in carbon-intensive sectors such as cement and aluminium. The EU said the tool is to support its climate objectives, while encouraging cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries.
“For us, we feel that you cannot use climate change as a trade barrier.
“Trade is not included in the Paris Agreement, but now the trend is to include climate inside trade deals, which is unfair for us,” he said at the “Road To Antalya: Climate Change Forum 2026” held at the same event.
Ahmad Faris said another issue to highlight is climate finance.
At COP29 in Baku, rich nations pledged to contribute at least US$300bil (RM1.23 trillion) annually to the global fight against climate change.
“The funds have been decreasing. Every four years we’ve been receiving US$36mil (RM147mil) and above from the Global Environment Facility, but it went down to US$13mil (RM53mil) in the recent cycle,” he said, adding that action needs funding, but the burden has been pushed to developing countries.
The Malaysia Pavilion at COP31, themed “Climate Action Now: Driving Resilient Growth”, will showcase the country’s climate action, sustainability initiatives and solutions.
Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation group chief executive officer Saiful Adib Abdul Munaff said programmes at the Malaysia Pavilion are structured around three core principles, namely technical mobilisation, carbon transition and community resilience, which are further broken down to seven key clusters spanning finance and economy, trade investment, natural resources and more.
All programmes will be streamed live at https://malaysiapavilion-cop.com/.
