Kurup: Timeline under review, but policy remains firm
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s proposed carbon tax is “only a matter of time”, says Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup, with revenue from the levy potentially channelled into a National Adaptation Fund to support flood mitigation and other climate resilience efforts.
He said the government’s commitment to implementing the carbon tax remained unchanged despite a review of its rollout timeline amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
“The National Adaptation Fund will show where your carbon tax money is going.
“You want to spend money on flood mitigation, coastal management and sustainable agricultural practices; these initiatives will help to contribute to our green agenda,” he said at the launch of the Weave the Future: Asean Youth Climate Action 2026 KL Launch at UCSI University yesterday.
Kurup noted that the government was reviewing only the implementation timeline of the tax and not the policy itself.
“We’ll implement the carbon tax; it’s only a matter of time. Our original plan was to implement the carbon tax by this year.
“However, we are very aware of the geopolitical and economic situation now, especially in West Asia, and we would rather not put an extra burden on our society,” he said.
The carbon tax, he said, would be limited to selected sectors, namely steel, cement and energy.
He urged the public to view the tax as an incentive to accelerate the transition towards green and renewable energy rather than a penalty.
“Don’t look at the carbon tax as a penalty. Look at the carbon tax as an incentive for us to transition to green and renewable energy.
“If we look at what’s going on in West Asia, where fuel prices have escalated, it shows that we cannot keep relying on fossil fuels because they are ultimately a finite resource.
“That is why we cannot afford to slow our transition to green and renewable energy,” he said.
Kurup said the government launched the National Carbon Market Policy in April as part of efforts to institutionalise the country’s carbon assets and support climate action initiatives.
Malaysia, he said, was in a favourable position as a carbon sink nation but needed to first measure, report and verify its carbon credits before they could be traded and valued.
“Carbon credits are a new source of wealth for our country, but the system can only be monetised if we institutionalise it.
“We first need to measure, report and verify all the carbon credits we have before we can start to trade and value them,” he said.
Kurup said climate change was no longer a matter of debate, pointing to rising temperatures and increasingly volatile weather patterns around the world.
Addressing the challenge requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, he said, adding that youths have an important role to play as they will inherit the consequences of today’s environmental decisions.
The programme was organised by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Shanghai Climate Week and Prosperity Alliance Shanghai, with UCSI University as co-organiser.
The ministry and MCA were supporting organisations.
