Premier: Mukah’s 200km coastal belt could gain value from carbon trading, help curb emissions

Abang Johari (fifth left) receives a souvenir during the dinner with Mukah Division community leaders and village chiefs (KMKK) on Oct 2, 2026. Photo credit: Office of Premier of Sarawak (OPS)/Sarawakku Facebook page.

By Christine T

KUCHING, Oct 3: Mukah’s 200km coastal belt of mangroves and peatlands could gain economic value from carbon trading, while its natural carbon sinks help address climate change, says Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said the State’s natural carbon sinks could help address emissions elsewhere while creating a new economic opportunity for Sarawak as carbon trading gains ground.

“People elsewhere have a problem, and we can help them address it. They emit carbon, while we have peatlands and mangroves that absorb carbon three times more than trees,” he said during a dinner with community leaders and village chiefs (KMKK) of the Mukah Division last night (Oct 2), which was broadcast live by Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS) on Facebook.

He said Mukah was particularly positioned to benefit from its natural resources, with extensive peatlands and mangroves stretching along about 200 kilometres of coastal area from Kuala Rajang.

Abang Johari said the development meant Sarawak’s economic approach needed to evolve by protecting and managing its natural wealth, particularly as carbon trading had emerged as a new economic activity.

“Those of us who store carbon can be paid for the way we store it,” he said.

Abang Johari said this created an opportunity for Sarawak to derive economic value from its forests, peatlands and mangroves while contributing to efforts to reduce carbon emissions globally.

The Premier also highlighted Sarawak’s efforts to establish a legal framework for managing carbon, noting that the State had introduced its carbon-related legislation last year.

He said Sarawak was the first State in Malaysia to have such legislation, with Putrajaya now working with the State to examine its model.

Abang Johari said Sarawak’s carbon management framework would be important in ensuring the State could properly manage and benefit from its carbon resources as the global carbon market continued to develop.

Meanwhile, he said the impacts of climate change were already being seen in various parts of the world, citing flooding in Nepal and India as well as extreme heat in Europe.

He said these developments were linked to rising carbon emissions that were contributing to global warming.

For Mukah, he said its extensive peatlands and mangroves therefore represented not only an environmental resource, but also a potential economic opportunity as carbon trading develops.

Among those present were Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar and wife Dato Fatimah Iskandar; Sarawak Minister for Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi; Sarawak Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah; Sarawak Minister in the Premier’s Department Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai; and Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Corporate Affairs, Information and UKAS) and Semop assemblyman Datuk Abdullah Saidol. — DayakDaily