Malaysia’s landmark climate change bill, expected to be tabled in Parliament next year, will first be put through a round of public consultation then further strengthened, given its importance on the national agenda. Discussions should not be kept in the “secret corridors of power”, said natural resources and environmental sustainability (NRES) minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
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Speaking at the Unlocking capital for sustainability 2024 conference in Kuala Lumpur Nik Nazmi said the Malaysian government is committed to having the bill tabled by next year, with an update to be shared in September this year.
Following that, the bill will be made public to collect feedback in a consultation that will last for at least a month. The approach will be similar to how the government also conducted public feedback for the draft bill of the Water Services Industry Act in 2004, which was designed to fix a problematic water industry that was then heavily politicised and plagued by failed models, shared Nik Nazmi.
”The public can comment [on the bill] so we can improve on it” he said at a fireside chat with Eco-Business founder and managing director Jessica Cheam, while highlighting that the government is prepared for repeated rounds of consultations with key stakeholders and then come back with a “stronger framework”.
The Malaysian government said it was in the preliminary stage of drafting a national climate change bill in November last year at Parliament. Since then, visits to various states and talks with local governments and authorities to hear their concerns and collect inputs on the bill have been ongoing, especially as there are contentions about carbon regulation and whether the national government can secure the support of state actors. As a federation, Malaysia is comprised of 14 states, 13 of which have elected governments independent of the federal government.
When asked by Cheam what should be expected of the upcoming bill, Nik Nazmi emphasised how it will be good to “take the politics out of it”, drawing from his observations of how discussions on climate change laws in other jurisdictions tended to be politicised. He pointed out that it will be crucial to “put the objectives far ahead” and lock in Malaysia’s long-term climate targets, to provide some certainty to businesses and future governments.
The national climate change bill will be the guiding framework on Malaysia’s pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The government has said the bill will adopt a whole-of-nation approach, ensuring an inclusive engagement process with stakeholders at every level of society.
It is also looking at legislation of other countries and trying to come up with a framework that works within the Malaysian context.
“We are also ensuring that the voices of the private sector and civil society are heard through the establishment of engagement forums namely advisory and consultative panels on climate change.”
These panels involve various groups of stakeholders such as the private sector, financial institutions, academia, non-government organisations, and youth, he said.
NRES, as part of the federal government, is responsible for ensuring the country meets its net-zero emissions target by 2050 as part of Malaysia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. However, state governments hold legislative power over their own land and natural resources, which state officials contend should include oversight and management of carbon sinks such as forests.
Nik Nazmi said it is the ultimate responsibility of the federal government to report to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on NDCs. Thus, he argued that the mechanisms and direction such as carbon pricing should come from the federal government.
At the forum, Nik Nazmi also responded to an audience member’s concern that the climate change bill will not be passed in Parliament by 2025 and a suggestion that it might be more effective for Malaysia to just focus on ensuring that a carbon price will be imposed by the same year. To these comments, he expressed confidence that consensus will be reached on the upcoming bill and highlighted that the new law will include mechanisms for carbon pricing.
Nik Nazmi also mentioned the recently-formed National Decarbonisation Committee which he chairs, comprising various stakeholders including state governments.
He said Malaysia’s journey towards net zero by 2050 is not something that can be achieved by his ministry alone and the committee is crucial for government representatives to come together to discuss the progress made on climate national targets.
“The idea [of this committee] is that we can sit together and see how much we are on track and what the different governments are doing for us to achieve [our 2030 and 2050 climate goals].”
COP29 and the Asean voice
As Malaysia gets ready to take up the chairmanship of Asean in October this year, there has been anticipation of how it will represent the region in the global arena.
Apart from pushing for an Asean framework for carbon markets, Nik Nazmi said Malaysia, as Asean chair, also wants to make sure the regional grouping’s voice is amplified at the COP29 climate summit at Azerbaijan later in the year. This year, the summit will feature an Asean pavilion, he shared.
A key national priority for Malaysia at COP has been to push for more climate financing from developed countries. Nik Nazmi said that pledges sometimes have not been met, and hence a major challenge that developing countries like Malaysia face is to “cash the cheque”. This year’s COP29 presidency has also set the new climate finance target as a top priority in its action plan.
As one of the 17 mega-diverse countries in the world, Malaysia hopes developing, megadiverse countries like Congo, South Africa and Brazil, can come together to put a common position at the COP this year.
Nik Nazmi also noted that there must be greater global unity in addressing climate change amid ongoing geopolitical tensions among major powers, particularly between the United States and China.
“If you talk about any climate agreement, nothing will happen without some commitment from China and the US,” he said, adding that what has been interesting is that while overall geopolitical tensions are still quite high between the two nations, there have been breakthroughs with regards to climate discussions.”
“Regardless of geopolitics, climate change is something that unites us. Say the US commits to a lofty climate goal, but China does not – this won’t work. Because at the end of the day, we are on the same planet,” he said.
Unlocking capital for sustainability is an annual flagship event on sustainable finance organised by Eco-Business in partnership with UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The next regional edition will be held in Manila, Philippines, on 14 August 2024. Register here.
