KUCHING: The Federal Government and Sarawak Government have agreed to establish a special committee to coordinate the implementation of the national carbon policy, thus ensuring a more structured, uniform and high-impact approach in the development of Malaysia's carbon market.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said the establishment of the committee is important to ensure that every carbon-related policy and its implementation is carried out through joint negotiations between both parties.

According to him, this move is also aimed at coordinating the assessment and development of the carbon credit registration system between the Federal and Sarawak Governments, in line with the nation’s commitments at the international level.

"Sarawak has approved the Greenhouse Gas Ordinance, so they already have their regulations and framework.

"So when we bring in the national framework, we need to ensure that we can coordinate between the nation and the states, especially regarding the price of carbon credits.

"Sarawak and the Federal Government cannot have differing prices because the carbon credits produced from Sarawak will also help our nationally determined contribution (NDC) targets at the international level, particularly when we report under the Paris Agreement," he said.

He said this after paying a courtesy call on Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg at the Kompleks Satria Pertiwi here on Thursday.

Commenting further, Datuk Seri Arthur said Sarawak played a crucial role in the development of the nation’s carbon market as the state had forest coverage of more than 64 per cent.

He said Sarawak's active involvement was very significant in ensuring the implementation of the National Carbon Market Policy (DPKK) ran effectively.

In a related development, he also announced that the National Climate Change Bill was expected to be tabled in Parliament this June.

In this regard, he expressed hope for support from all parties including Sarawak's elected representatives to ensure the approval of the policy.

Additionally, he said the discussion with the Sarawak Premier also touched on the work of determining the Malaysia-Brunei and Malaysia-Indonesia borders, as well as the progress of returning Federal land to the Sarawak Government under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Also present during the courtesy call was Sarawak Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni. -UKASnews

Prepared By: Nur Nabilla
Photo: Shahril Haqim
Translator: Nerissa Sia