The Joint Committee on Climate Change ( JC3 ) of Malaysia met last month to discuss working together to improve the financial sector’s ability to develop climate resilience. & nbsp,
According to a spokesperson for Bank Negara Malaysia( BNM ),” sustainable assets are gaining momentum in Malaysia with key investment styles built around the need for accelerating sectoral transition and climate resilience, such as energy transition, circular economy, food security, and freedom change.”
The JC3 board was established in September 2019 to ensure a cogent approach to ESG initiatives, with its founding serving as” great testimony” to how proponents of Malaysia’s capital markets intend to work closely to improve sustainability practices in Malaysia, according to Angelia Chin – Sharpe, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management, which operates in Southeast Asia.
Its members include representatives of the market’s central bank, BNM, capital markets regulator, Securities Commission Malaysia ( SC ), stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia, and 21 other financial industry players, including Chin-Shawni at BNP AM, insurance companies Allianz, Swiss Re and Zurich, as well as banks like RHB Islamic and CIMB.
The committee outlined five initiatives at the meeting that” emphasise the crucial part of the banking sector in enabling a lasting plan” with the goal of expediting the economy’s low-carbon practices. A pilot project to switch industrial parks and their operational infrastructure to low-carbon practices was one of these, along with three data-related initiatives and a RM1 billion($ 0.210 million ) guarantee to provide funding to smaller market players to support their ESG agendas. & nbsp,
The BNM spokesperson stated to FA that one of the goals of” Ekonomi Madani” is to encourage Malaysia’s green growth in the direction of climate resilience. This goal aims to put Malaysia on a strong development path by realizing and addressing key national issues.
There are numerous opportunities for industry players, including international investors, to achieve the National Energy Transition Roadmap ( NETR ) targets set for 2050, she said.
Energy efficiency( EE ), renewable energy( RE ), hydrogen, bioenergy, and green mobility and carbon capture, utilisation and storage( CCUS ) are the six energy transition levers that Malaysia’s NETR identifies as its ten flagship projects. These are anticipated to catalyze and quicken the market’s energy transition, reduce greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions by at least 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent ( MtCO2eq ) annually, create 23, 000 high-impact job opportunities, and improve corporate ecosystem growth opportunities with benefits to society.
According to the BNM touch, their powerful supply necessitates investments in infrastructure, engineering, and human capital totaling between RM1.2 trillion and Rs1.3 trillion up to 2050. In addition to & nbsp,
While Malaysia’s administrative society is capable of reviewing such an option and is aware of the significance of incorporating ESG into purchase technique,” there is still a need to teach” smaller scale investors on the opportunities and risks associated with sustainability strategies, according to Chin-Sharpe, BNP Paribas AM.
Having said that, she added,” Most banks in Malaysia are committed to playing a more active role to align and help their clients understand the[ relevant ] Malaysian taxonomies.”
Purchase and regulation
The five new initiatives have been included in the government’s budget for 2024 and” complement other policies such as the NETR, the New Industrial Master Plan ( NIMP ) 2030 and the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan ( MTR – 12MP ,” according to YB Nik Nazmi Nk Ahmad, minister of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change.
All governing events, including JC3 users, Malaysia’s Corporate Guarantee Corporation, and pertinent ministries, are committed to putting the tasks into action, the BNM representative confirmed with FA.
The regulatory environment in Malaysia keeps up with the country’s continued energy transition and the funding needed to make it happen. To obtain conservation and environment goals, the money market should be prepared to help finance raising and investments. Since 2011, when Sustainable and Responsible Investment ( SRI ) has been included as a crucial growth strategy in the Capital Market Masterplan CMP2, the SC has paved the way for sustainability, according to Dato ‘ Seri Dr. Awang Adek Hussin, its chairman.
A Climate Chance and Principle-based Taxonomy was published by BNM in 2021. In December 2022, SC unveiled a Principles-Based SRI Taxony for the Malaysian Capital Market. This year, in June of this year. SC also established the International Sustainability Standards Board’s ( ISSB ). & nbsp,
Meanwhile, the BNM spokesperson emphasized last month’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation legislation as having the potential to significantly lower energy use by 2050 — by 2, 017 million gigajoules, or RM97 billion in savings— and to” create new jobs in energy management and auditing ,” she said.
According to Adrian Wong, mind of jobs and director at the Singapore-based law firm Prolegis, which has a formal legal ally with Herbert Smith Freehills( HSF ),” investment has increased in Malaysia in part because the regulatory environment has done more to promote appetite in renewables.”
Large-scale solar auctions in Malaysia’s peninsular and projects along the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy ( Score) are two of the renewable infrastructure projects his team is helping clients with.
The transport industry is anticipated to play a significant role in the demand for renewable energy, with electric vehicle ( EV ) usage expected to reach 80 % of the car market in 2050.
However, he informed FA that the greatest possibility is present in projects involving solar, water, and biofuel. In 2040, it is anticipated that all three sources will increase and account for roughly 17 % of Malaysia’s total energy mix.
a files travel
Data and the potential of emerging technologies to support Malaysia’s conservation plan are the three activities that were announced at the event.
The first builds on the accomplishments of JC3’s Greening Value Chain ( GVC ) pilot program, which began in 2022 and has so far assisted 80 small and medium enterprises( SMEs ) in tracking and reporting greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions across the length of their supply chains. In order to provide public listed companies( PLCs ) capacity-building support, reporting tools, and additional financing facilities, which the BNM spokesperson said could be accessed” at competitive rates via the Low Carbon Transition Facility( LCTF ), the updated plan connects Bursa Malaysia’s sustainability data platform with the GVC program.
Access to an” ESG jump-start portal,” through which Malay businesses can obtain useful information on ESG-related capacity-building programs, certification, as well as financial and opportunity methods, and the introduction of a Green AgriTech program to promote the adoption of green technology and sustainable agriculture techniques among local producers, are additional data related initiatives.
According to the BNM director,” Green AgriTech offers substantial potential for Malaysia’s agricultural field by opening up new possibilities and addressing vital difficulties.”
Wong concurred that emerging technology has the potential to modernize and alter Malaysia’s ESG strategy, particularly in the agricultural industry. From ensuring a sustainable supply of food sources to raising general health and environmental criteria, he mentioned the potential for positive effects.
To ensure that farmers may conduct their financial transactions online, he suggested the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation’s project, which linked small farmers to online marketplaces offering bright warehouse facilities, supply, and farming solutions.
Through a thorough approach to alternative solutions, this catalytic pilot program encourages farmers to use technologies and follow greener and ecological practices. Participating farmers can obtain grants and LCTF to purchase natural systems, the BNM spokesperson added.
” Technology use may improve produce stability and quality while also assisting in the resolution of food safety issues.”
maintaining speed
The efforts to enlist input from all parts of Malaysia’s market, both the public sector and the private sector, is at the core of the country as it transitions. The BNM spokesperson informed FA that” efforts to level public-private partnerships are even continuing, with fresh initiatives.”
She stated that the GVC program is an excellent illustration of a cutting-edge blended financing initiative in Malaysia that supports the country’s move toward enlightenment.
BNM continues to support private institutions’ participation in the government’s loan offerings, the call emphasized,” BNM also supports such attempts by facilitating the release of Government of Malaysia Sustainable Sukuk for registration by both domestic and foreign investors.”
According to SC chairman Hussin at the conference, the SRI-linked Sukuk Framework was introduced last year, giving the Indonesian capital market access to a full range of frameworks to assist businesses in financing transitional projects as well as alternative, social, and sustainability initiatives.
Fitch recently released an ESG document that showed a steadfast global appetite for the sukuk. The data shows that by the end of 3Q23, ESG sukuk issuance had increased by 66 % year over year( YoY ) to reach$ 33.3 billion worldwide.
Due to built-in sharia filters, there is a cross between Islamic funding and ESG principles, according to the ratings agent’s research. & nbsp,
Over the moderate name,” Fitch Ratings anticipates more rise.” According to the review, the company’s growth is largely driven by governments’ sustainability initiatives and issuers’ funding diversification goals toward both sharia and ESG-sensitive investors.
” ESG sukuk could receive an awareness and issuance boost ,” said Bashar Al-Natoor, Fitch’s global head of Islamic Finance, with the United Arab Emirates( UAE) hosting the Conference of Parties( COP ) 28 this year.
It is motivating to see the Indonesian government adopting a” full of state” approach to addressing the impact of climate change on economic conservation, Hussin said at the conference’s conclusion. The nation’s interests and sustainable development methods are outlined in roadmaps and masterplans that have been made available by the relevant ministries.
I want to say it again:” Our planet is facing an unprecedented problem, one that necessitates immediate and coordinated effort from all countries, sectors, and individuals.”
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