KOTA KINABALU: – Sabah agrees with the stand of the Sarawak government that the proposed new Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Bill to be tabled in Parliament later this year has no application to the Borneo States and should not cover Sabah like Sarawak.
Deputy Chief Minister I cum Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry, Sabah Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan stated this in a statement on Tuesday.
“There is a clear separation of jurisdiction constitutionally that both land and forestry matters are State matters under the State List and under the purview of the Sabah government,” said Jeffrey, who is also the minister in charge and chairman of the State Carbon Steering and Monitoring Cabinet Committee.
According to him, Sabah is also the first-mover State to see the revenue and socio-economic opportunities arising from the global market for carbon credit. The State has in fact signed the necessary arrangement to generate a new source of income for the State from carbon credit sales from its two million hectares of tropical forests while preserving them.
It is not just preserving the rainforests but also providing much needed funds and opportunities for the indigenous people in Sabah and at the same time complying with many of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like no poverty, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, protect and promote sustainable eco-systems, forests and halt bio-diversity loss.
More so in Sabah which relies heavily on the tourism industry with emphasis on its natural and pristine environment, sun, sea and nature and abundant bio-diversity.
With its carbon credit generation program, Jeffrey said Sabah although already a carbon negative State, will further contribute to the climate change goals of Malaysia and assist the nation in achieving the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
He said Malaysia is committed to unconditionally reduce economy-wide carbon emissions by 45% in GDP terms in comparison to its 2005 levels.
With its own carbon reduction program, he said Sabah is well advanced and well-positioned to take responsibility of its carbon credit potential under its own Sabah land and forestry laws with or without the Federal government’s proposed new CCUS laws.
“As recognized under Article 1(3) of the Federal Constitution, Sabah’s land includes land under water and its boundaries extend to the continental shelf since 1954.
“The socio-economic benefits of its carbon credit program is in line with the State’s vision of developing the Sabah Maju Jaya Development Plan 2021-2025 and in the process of enacting its own carbon capture and utilization laws as well as updating the Forest Enactment 1968 including making “carbon” as a forest produce.
“Thus, there is no necessity for the CCUS to be extended to Sarawak and Sabah as was made known to the National Climate Change Council meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in Putrajaya last Friday,” he added.
