Abg Jo: Carbon trading only after new law passed in Parliament

KUCHING (Aug 19): Carbon trading in Sarawak will only begin after a new law for the transboundary transport of carbon has been passed in Parliament, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said Sarawak already has a proposal for carbon trading but it can only be implemented once the law has been passed.

“We must have the law on how we can export carbon. The law would be at the federal level and it will be called the Transboundary Transportation of Carbon Law,” he said after witnessing an exchange of memorandum of understanding between Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), Petronas, SEDC and ESG Malaysia today.

Abang Johari said the bill for the law is expected to be tabled in Parliament in November this year.

“Now, we produce timber as a commodity to be exported to India and China because we have a law to do that but for carbon trading, we don’t have that yet. Therefore, we need to wait for the law to be passed and enforced before carbon trading can actually begin,” he said.

He also hoped the issuance of licence to various local companies would not be affected.

“There should be no problem, because we have state laws on the issuing of licence. It is just that at the moment, there is no law on trading and transporting carbon overseas,” he said, adding that at the moment, Sarawak only refers to the London protocol on carbon trading and this might change from time to time.

Abang Johari also said Sarawak is working together with the World Bank to determine the price of carbon per metric tonne and that Sarawak had to be careful in picking a consultant as carbon trading is a new matter.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Urban Development, Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Taliff Salleh, Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni, SFC general manager Abang Arabi Abang Aimran and Petronas vice president and chief sustainability officer Charlotte Wolff-Bye, SEDC chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Hussain and ESG Malaysia president Steven Lee.