Latest news with #Madingkir
The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Sabah passes climate change Bill after blowing past Paris Agreement targets
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has passed the Climate Change and Carbon Governance Enactment 2025, following official confirmation that the state absorbs more carbon than it emits, placing it ahead of global expectations set under the Paris Agreement. Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Abidin Madingkir, who tabled the Bill in the State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday (July 8), cited findings from Sabah's first Greenhouse Gas Inventory, conducted last year, which identified the state as a net carbon sink, a rare position globally. 'In simple terms, we absorb more carbon than we emit. Sabah has already gone beyond what the world is asking for under the Paris Agreement. We have done our part, today, for Malaysia's 2050 net-zero commitment,' he said. The data showed that Sabah contributes approximately 36% of Malaysia's total carbon sequestration, underscoring its environmental value and strategic importance in the low-carbon global economy. Madingkir described this status as a 'strategic economic asset' in a carbon-constrained world, and one that must be 'guarded jealously'. 'This is not something we can take lightly. If we are not careful, we could quickly lose this position and become a carbon polluter like many others, squandering the advantage we currently hold,' he said. Despite this rare advantage, he reminded the assembly that Sabah remains one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in Malaysia, grappling with floods, coastal erosion and threats to rural livelihoods. The newly passed Bill aims to address both challenges, turning vulnerability into opportunity. The Climate Change and Carbon Governance Enactment 2025 establishes a legal framework for regulating carbon-related activities, protecting the state's carbon assets and building institutional climate resilience. Key provisions include establishing the Sabah Climate Action Council (SCAC) as the state's lead policy advisory body; creating a Climate Fund and Inventory Centre for tracking greenhouse gas emissions; mandating emissions reporting by listed entities; affirming that carbon rights belong to the state government; and ensuring the participation of Indigenous communities, especially for projects on customary land. The Bill also provides a mechanism for managing carbon credit generation, benefit-sharing and enforcement, supported by a two-tier governance structure with oversight across state agencies. Madingkir explained that environmental matters fall under the state's legislative authority, as they are not included in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution. Land, water and forests, key to carbon governance, fall under List II (State List), strengthening Sabah's legislative right to act, he added. He stressed that while Sabah already leads in environmental performance, maintaining this lead will require capacity-building, funding and strategic partnerships, especially with the Federal Government and global stakeholders. 'Our goal is to ensure that the benefits of this unique position reach the lives of Sabahans, while contributing meaningfully to global climate progress,' he said. The Enactment passed with strong support from lawmakers across the aisle, reflecting political will to position Sabah at the forefront of green policy and carbon economy.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State launches aggressive campaign to safeguard natural resources from exploitation: 'It's important we act now'
A Malaysian state is moving to protect its forested areas and ensure their safety. According to The Vibes, Sabah has passed legislation that makes it mandatory to secure a license before engaging in any "forest carbon activity" on certain types of lands. Because Sabah is a heavily forested region, its natural resources are a popular target for investing in carbon credits, which are used by companies to offset their production of planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide. Companies can invest in the forests' capturing carbon in Sabah at an equal rate to the amount of pollution they produce. The new law will allow Sabah to inventory, regulate, and monitor all trade of carbon credits while also ensuring it continues to benefit from the sale and trade of the credits between companies. "The amendment gives us the legal basis to regulate carbon credit activities, ahead of the federal law on the same subject expected later this year. It's important we act now to safeguard the state assets," assistant minister in the chief minister's department Datuk Abidin Madingkir said, per The Vibes. Carbon offsets and carbon credits remain a controversial way to address our changing climate. While popular with corporations, the practice is often exploitative of Indigenous and local peoples and can result in their forcible removal from land — as CarbonBrief has detailed. They can also exaggerate their positive impact and reduce biodiversity with the planting of mass quantities of singular types of trees, for example. They can heavily restrict the use of land by Native peoples and can lead to money trading hands without the community ever getting a penny. Sabah has drawn scrutiny before for its dealings with regard to carbon credits. In 2021, the United Nations started investigating Sabah for an agreement with a Singaporean company for the rights to over half the state's forested land to be used as a carbon sink. The U.N. expressed concerns that the Indigenous people of Sabah, who account for more than half the state's population, were not adequately informed of the impact the sale would have on them, as Mongabay reported. That deal was eventually canceled by Malaysia's top federal attorney, who declared the project to be unfeasible and lacking in transparency. Madingkir said that the new bill allowed protection for the rights of Indigenous people, and that planting trees was permitted without license, as long as those trees weren't being claimed as part of a carbon credit program, according to The Vibes. It will allow a chief conservator to close parts of the forest as well and regulate forest carbon standards that can be linked to federal and international databases to ensure transparency. While carbon offsets in the region have been the subject of much scrutiny, Sabah appears to be trying to ensure the practice is done safely and responsibly while making sure that some of the money involved stays in the region. "This is the right time to enact a specific law to regulate forest carbon activities to protect the state's interest and the sustainability of our forest resources," Madingkir said, per The Vibes. Will America someday get all its energy from renewable sources? Yes — very soon Yes — by 2050 Yes — by 2070 Probably never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
