Hajiji: Sabah setting high standards to protect carbon credit reputation

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 24 — Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor has emphasized that Sabah will not tolerate unvetted projects or speculative trading in its nascent carbon market. He stressed the importance of stringent regulatory standards to maintain investor confidence. Hajiji cautioned that poorly planned initiatives, inflated climate statements, undervalued natural resources, and the exclusion of indigenous communities could severely tarnish the credibility of Sabah’s carbon credits internationally.

He reiterated that Sabah must uphold the highest standards of environmental, social, financial, and governance integrity. Buyers will demand full transparency, and the state will not allow unvetted projects to rush to the market or be traded on speculation. The upcoming Sabah Climate Change and Carbon Governance Enactment 2025 will grant legal recognition to the state's carbon rights, establishing rules for project approvals and carbon trading.

The new Sabah Climate Change Action Council will lead the state’s climate policy, draft the carbon budget, and coordinate inter-agency efforts. The council will be aided by a Climate Registry and Inventory Centre. Hajiji appealed to the banking and investment sectors to develop innovative financing solutions to address the high costs of early-stage carbon projects.

He highlighted the Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project, a 83,381-hectare initiative projected to reduce emissions by over 800,000 tonnes annually annually, as a prime example of Sabah’s potential in the blue economy, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and carbon capture and storage sectors.