(Kuching, 24th) — Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg stated that the Sarawak government and the Federal Government in Putrajaya are currently in discussions on how to distribute taxes (levies) collected under the carbon trading mechanism, with the relevant system now entering its final drafting stage.
He said that this taxation mechanism is part of the joint management by Sarawak and the Federal Government for carbon trading registration and meeting United Nations (UN) reporting requirements.
“As a sovereign nation, Malaysia must register with the United Nations. This part will be coordinated between the Federal and Sarawak governments.
“They may impose a carbon tax; therefore, this revenue must be shared between the Federal and Sarawak governments. We are currently formulating this mechanism.”
He made these remarks yesterday when attending the opening ceremony of the 11th International Conference on Low Carbon Asia (ICLCA 2025) at the Hikmah Exchange Event Centre (HEEC) in Kuching.
Abang Johari pointed out that Sarawak remains a “carbon negative state” and has areas suitable for carbon storage, including depleted offshore oil wells, which can be included in the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) mechanism.
He revealed that Sarawak is currently collaborating with the World Bank and the Verified Carbon Standard (Verra) organization to establish a reasonable carbon price assessment system and is also exploring carbon trading opportunities with countries such as South Korea and Japan.
“Nowadays, the global consensus is 'the polluter pays'—which is also the core concept under the UN Framework Convention on Carbon.
However, there is still no unified formula at present, so we are working with the World Bank and Verra to calculate a reasonable carbon price.”
He added that a Finnish team recently showcased a new technology that can calculate the carbon absorption value of a specific plot of land.
“If this algorithm is accepted and certified by the international market, then owners of Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land in Sarawak can trade based on their carbon storage volume.
I hope the Finnish team and the Sarawak Forestry Department can further refine this calculation system.”
The four-day ICLCA 2025 conference (22nd to 25th October) is jointly organized by the Institute of Sustainable and Renewable Energy (ISuRE), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), and the Low Carbon Asia Research Centre at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), with support from the Sarawak Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development (MUDeNR), Ministry for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (MEESty), and Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak).
With the theme “Innovative Pathways for Scalable Low Carbon Solutions Towards Sustainability,” the conference has attracted 503 representatives from 20 countries, including scholars, industry leaders, and policymakers.
The event focuses on topics such as low-carbon innovation, circular economy, sustainable production, biodiversity and nature-based approaches, climate justice, and inclusive transformation.
Attendees include Sarawak University Board Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Sulong Matjeraie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development Datu Abdullah Julaihi, UNIMAS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit, and UTM Low Carbon Asia Research Centre Director Prof Dr Ho Chin Siong.
He said that this taxation mechanism is part of the joint management by Sarawak and the Federal Government for carbon trading registration and meeting United Nations (UN) reporting requirements.
“As a sovereign nation, Malaysia must register with the United Nations. This part will be coordinated between the Federal and Sarawak governments.
“They may impose a carbon tax; therefore, this revenue must be shared between the Federal and Sarawak governments. We are currently formulating this mechanism.”
He made these remarks yesterday when attending the opening ceremony of the 11th International Conference on Low Carbon Asia (ICLCA 2025) at the Hikmah Exchange Event Centre (HEEC) in Kuching.
Abang Johari pointed out that Sarawak remains a “carbon negative state” and has areas suitable for carbon storage, including depleted offshore oil wells, which can be included in the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) mechanism.
He revealed that Sarawak is currently collaborating with the World Bank and the Verified Carbon Standard (Verra) organization to establish a reasonable carbon price assessment system and is also exploring carbon trading opportunities with countries such as South Korea and Japan.
“Nowadays, the global consensus is 'the polluter pays'—which is also the core concept under the UN Framework Convention on Carbon.
However, there is still no unified formula at present, so we are working with the World Bank and Verra to calculate a reasonable carbon price.”
He added that a Finnish team recently showcased a new technology that can calculate the carbon absorption value of a specific plot of land.
“If this algorithm is accepted and certified by the international market, then owners of Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land in Sarawak can trade based on their carbon storage volume.
I hope the Finnish team and the Sarawak Forestry Department can further refine this calculation system.”
The four-day ICLCA 2025 conference (22nd to 25th October) is jointly organized by the Institute of Sustainable and Renewable Energy (ISuRE), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), and the Low Carbon Asia Research Centre at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), with support from the Sarawak Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development (MUDeNR), Ministry for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (MEESty), and Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak).
With the theme “Innovative Pathways for Scalable Low Carbon Solutions Towards Sustainability,” the conference has attracted 503 representatives from 20 countries, including scholars, industry leaders, and policymakers.
The event focuses on topics such as low-carbon innovation, circular economy, sustainable production, biodiversity and nature-based approaches, climate justice, and inclusive transformation.
Attendees include Sarawak University Board Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Sulong Matjeraie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development Datu Abdullah Julaihi, UNIMAS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit, and UTM Low Carbon Asia Research Centre Director Prof Dr Ho Chin Siong.