Malaysia is expected to announce “ambitious” commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the Climate Change Conference in Glasgow at the end of next month.
While nothing has been said officially, we have been informed that Malaysia will now commit to a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to its GDP by 2030 in comparison with 2005 levels – unconditionally and across sectors.
Previously, Malaysia’s emissions target was set at 35% on an unconditional basis and 10% on a conditional basis upon receipt of climate finance funding, technology transfer and capacity building from developed countries.
On Sept 14, 2021, the Environment and Water Ministry told Parliament that the new commitments – known as the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation – had been forwarded to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on July 30, 2021, after receiving the then Cabinet’s approval.
“The 45% target is cross sectoral and unconditional. This means that Malaysia will achieve the target through its own efforts and capabilities. The reduction will be also focused on mitigating emissions and not the purchase of international carbon credits,” the ministry said in a written reply to PKR’s Subang MP Wong Chen.
The emissions reduction target will now include seven types of greenhouse gases compared with three previously.
The ministry said following the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released in early August, it would review the NDC again in 2025. (See StarLifestyle's Aug 17 story on the IPCC report, “Global warming is now inevitable – how will Malaysia be affected?”)
Speaking at a climate change webinar on Sept 16, 2001, Environment and Water Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Zaini Ujang confirmed that Malaysia was “going to be ambitious” at the conference, which will take place from Oct 31 to Nov 12.
Zaini, who will head Malaysia's delegation to the conference, said details would be announced later.
Among matters the ministry is working on is drafting a specific Climate Change Act, drawing up the basic structure for a National GHG (greenhouse gas) Inventory Centre as well as developing a framework for a domestic carbon trading scheme.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Tuan Ibrahim added, had stressed that the Cabinet line-up should prove their main achievements within the first 100 days: “I view this matter seriously and the first 100 days is a very critical period in clearly setting the ministry’s direction,” he said in a statement.
“As the main ministry in driving the national agenda on climate change, we are responsible for fulfilling our obligation for reporting under the UNFCCC as well as streamlining our targets of reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions through the NDC,” he said.
In April, Zaini said that a Cabinet meeting held on Dec 23, 2020, agreed to the drafting of specific climate change legislation.
Proposal for the Bill started during the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2018 and it was supposed to be modelled on a similar Bill in Britain but efforts stalled due to arguments saying that any provision should instead be incorporated into existing legislation such as the Environmental Quality Act. That seems to have been settled as the ministry is now going ahead with drafting the Bill.
Tuan Ibrahim said the ministry will also carry out a review of the country’s National Climate Change Policy to take into account important aspects of the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, the latest development at domestic and international levels, as well as integration under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (ie, the collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”).
Other targets include launching the Malaysia Plastics Sustainability Roadmap as well as a Green Jobs Portal to generate employment opportunities in the green economy.
For the water and sewerage sector, Tuan Ibrahim said the ministry would develop a mechanism to set a fair and transparent water tariff, identify five new areas for water endowment projects and expand the use of renewable water sources for industries.
“The ministry will also increase water supply network and raise the national water reserve margin,” he said.
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