KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) is conducting a study on the National Carbon Market Policy (DPKK), slated for completion next year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Its Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, said the policy seeks to support the adoption of both compliance and voluntary carbon market mechanisms in Malaysia, thus facilitating the implementation of carbon projects by investors.
He said that the policy was also in line with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Roadmap to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.
“DPKK is also formulated to facilitate relevant stakeholders, such as state governments and the private sector, to develop the local carbon trading industry.
“The ministry will continue to hold discussions with state governments regarding the carbon market mechanism since matters related to land and forestry fall within the jurisdiction of the state government,“ he said during the question and answer session.
Nik Nazmi said this in reply to a question from Datuk Ali Biju (PN-Saratok) about the current status of carbon trading implementation in Malaysia and the direction of the national carbon policy.
In response to Ali’s supplementary question regarding the government’s plan to introduce the carbon tax, Nik Nazmi said the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for overseeing taxation matters, has commenced discussions with stakeholders, while NRES has provided technical input to the process.
“So, among the factors we consider is the fact that we still have a lot of carbon subsidies for things like petrol, diesel, natural gas, and so on. That’s why we need to look at this matter comprehensively.
“We’ve started the process of transitioning to targeted subsidies…this is not a matter of increasing government revenue but rather of achieving net zero carbon emissions,“ he said. –Bernama
