By Shikin Louis
KUALA LUMPUR, June 2: The Federal government has begun engaging state governments and the private sector in an effort to formulate the national carbon market policy, says Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
He pointed out that under Article 74(2) of the Federal Constitution, forestry falls under state jurisdiction, giving states the authority to enact laws and manage forestry policies independently.
“The federal government’s role involves providing advice, technical assistance, research, and development training in agriculture and forestry to the states,” he explained.
However, he explained that the issue of carbon market is broader than the forest aspect because while forest is a nature-based solution for the carbon market, it also involved tax-based solutions.
Nik Nazmi emphasized that the carbon market extends beyond forestry, encompassing tax-based solutions.
Consequently, NRES has been tasked with formulating national arrangements for implementing the carbon market mechanism in Malaysia, aligned with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“NRES is currently developing a national carbon market policy and we have started engagement with the state governments.
“At the same time, this carbon market policy is also designed to make it easier for stakeholders, whether the state government or the private sector, to get involved in the local carbon trading industry and allow it to grow,” he said when responding to question by Paya Besar MP Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Nik Nazmi also mentioned that Malaysia will look at other neighbouring countries’ carbon policy such as Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia as a benchmark.
“The Federal government through the Ministry of Finance (MOF) is discussing with the World Bank to advance whether we can see the feasibility of carbon tax implementation in our country.
“These discussions are ongoing and will be considered in the drafting process of the National Climate Change Bill,” he noted. — DayakDaily
