COP29: Climate Financing Vital For ASEAN Towards Green Transition - MGTC

From Samantha Tan Chiew Tieng

BAKU (Azerbaijan), Nov 17 (Bernama) -- The focus on climate financing and green transition within ASEAN is becoming increasingly crucial as the region leaps towards sustainable economic growth and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, according to Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC).

Its group chief executive officer, Shamsul Bahar Mohd Nor said Malaysia would seek for climate financing as it was essential to support industries in their shift towards producing more green products.

He said climate finance would be one of the highlights at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP29) to ensure ASEAN countries benefit effectively from global climate funds, emphasising the importance of financial flows to support green projects.

"Climate financing is among the focus areas (at COP29) as this is very much in need for Malaysian as well as ASEAN industries to move forward to produce more green products," he told Bernama when met at Malaysian Pavilion in conjunction with COP29, which is being held from Nov 11-22, here today.

Besides that, Shamsul Bahar said Malaysia in its role as the Chair of ASEAN 2025 would also underscore the importance of establishing effective mechanisms as well as enhancing international cooperation to address loss and damage to support recovery efforts of developing countries to manage the adverse impacts of climate events.

He said ASEAN 2025 would be a important platform with Malaysia playing a leading role to spur the green economy by implementing climate technologies to accelerate carbon emission reductions and fostering a resilient green economy within the region.

He said Malaysia is also actively engaged in negotiations of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement aiming to define carbon market mechanisms and hopefully by 2026, the framework could be further refined.

On the domestic front, Shamsul Bahar said various initiatives are being undertaken by the government, epecially the introduction of the Carbon Tax on iron and steel as well as energy industries by 2026 as announced in the Budget 2025.

He said this was the government's commitment towards a significant step in reducing national emissions and aligning with global climate commitments.

He said as Malaysia takes the lead, the move would have spillover benefits for ASEAN to adopt a similar framework in creating a cohesive regional approach to carbon management while ensuring economic competitiveness.

Furthermore, Shamsul Bahar said the Malaysian government also launched the National Energy Transformation Roadmap (NETR) last year with a vision to attract RM1.2 trillion in investments to further strengthen its commitment towards a green future.

He said the big ambition reflects the government's commitment to making more transparent and seamless policies for investors.

He said since 2010, various incentives have driven green manufacturing in Malaysia via MGTC, including the Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) bringing in green investments worth RM50 billion to date, with RM7.5 billion guaranteed by the government.

"An additional RM1 billion was announced to further catalyse growth in the green economy," he said.

The government in Budget 2025 announced that GTFS programme will continue until 2026 with RM1 billion funding.

Shamsul Bahar added that MGTC rolled out the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030 (LCMB) which targets 10,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations by 2025 as well as 50 per cent electrification of the government vehicle fleet.

Malaysia's participation at COP29 aims to reinforce its commitment to the green economy as outlined in Budget 2025, to further drive the adoption of cleaner technologies and attract sustainable investments to strengthen the country's leadership in green growth.

The Malaysia Pavilion at COP29 is spearheaded by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, in collaboration with MGTC as the implementing agency. 

-- BERNAMA