JC3 APPROVES PUBLICATION OF REPORT TO ADDRESS CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL DATA NEEDS

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 (Bernama) -- The Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3), a platform to pursue collaborative actions for building climate resilience within the country’s financial sector, has approved the publication of the Data Catalogue and Accompanying Report (DC) on data availability, gaps and recommendations to bridge data gaps.

In a joint statement, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said the DC’s publication, approved at its ninth meeting on Dec 2, 2022, represents an important step towards addressing the critical data needs of the financial sector.

“It will serve as a source of reference on the availability and accessibility of climate and environmental data based on a priority list of financial sector use cases,” they said.

bootstrap slideshow

The statement said work on the DC has highlighted important data gaps, with only 49 per cent of data items needed for the priority use cases currently available. Of this, the bulk of available data lacks sufficient granularity, or the data, while available, is not easily accessible nor comparable.

“Following the publication of the DC, JC3 will focus efforts in 2023 on working with relevant data providers to resolve data accessibility issues and and improve the quality, comparability and consistency of existing data sources,” they said.

Given the significant data gaps, BNM and the SC said JC3 also agreed to work with key data providers on strategies to substantially reduce the data gaps, taking into consideration domestic and global developments on sustainability and climate-related disclosures.

The DC will be available at these links: https://www.bnm.gov.my/climatechange and  https://www.sc.com.my/development/sri.

BNM and SC said that as part of efforts to scale up green and sustainable finance, JC3 discussed plans to develop and launch several pilot programmes in 2023, which will be prioritised under its sub-committee on product and innovation.

BNM deputy governor and and co-chair of JC3, Jessica Chew, said for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the recent launch of the Greening Value Chain programme by BNM in collaboration with JC3 is an example of a pilot project targeting SMEs that are part of global supply chains that will need to make long- term changes to green their operations.

“JC3 will actively seek out more pilot projects with high impacts on expanding sustainable and transition finance, including projects that can create positive demonstration effects and further develop the ecosystem for sustainable and transition finance.

“This is key for Malaysia to achieve net zero by 2050,” she said.

On another note, in the meeting JC3 updated that it will also continue to pursue the priorities under its sub-committees on risk management, governance and disclosures, as well as engagement and capacity building in 2023.

These include expanding the use cases for the application of the Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy (CCPT) to include sector/project-specific use cases based on Value-based Intermediation Financing and Investment Impact Assessment Framework Sectoral Guides.

“JC3 will also undertake thematic reviews on financial institutions’ transition plans and climate practices, with the view to share leading practices and assess the implications of financial institutions’ transition plans for businesses, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors,” it noted.

JC3 said it will also align the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Application Guide for Malaysian Financial Institutions with the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB)  disclosure requirements upon its finalisation.

On this, JC3 is also supporting Capital Markets Malaysia, an affiliate of the SC, to develop an ESG Disclosure Guide tailored to Malaysian SMEs, of which will provide practical guidance and the baseline exposures expected of SMEs in relation to ESG to encourage greater transparency and improve the quality of SMEs’ ESG disclosures.

Another priority, JC3 said, is developing a climate change curriculum for financial institutions to provide more curated and specialised climate-related training programmes.

“This aims to facilitate the development of structured training pathways for financial institutions to build technical capabilities across all levels in climate-related topics and  developments.

“JC3 will work closely with potential training providers and explore relevant accreditations for the training curriculum to assure the quality of training and enable recognition of relevant training across the industry,” it said.

During the meeting, JC3 members also discussed the role of the financial sector in facilitating energy transition.

JC3 members noted that it will be important to align the targets under the Low Carbon Nation Aspiration 2040 with Malaysia’s ambition to be a carbon-neutral nation by as early as 2050 whereby JC3 members also exchanged views with PETRONAS on its net zero carbon emissions pathway and were briefed by Bursa Malaysia on the Voluntary Carbon Market that will be launched soon.

According to the SC deputy chief executive and JC3 co-chair Datuk Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, the policy and action plans by key actors in the energy sector will increase the urgency and need for financing and investment as one of the key enablers to support the implementation of strategic initiatives.

“The financial sector has a key role in providing green financing and sustainable investing, which JC3 is currently exploring to facilitate a just and orderly transition of the country,” he added.

-- BERNAMA