Sarawak & Carbon Credit - Surely You Jest Bro Jo

 Sarawak & Carbon Credit - Surely You Jest Bro Jo

In a statement to the media on the 19th Oct 2020, reported by Borneo Post under the caption ‘ Sarawak Needs To Upgrade Law To Claim Carbon Credit, say CM’ CM Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg talked about updating state laws so that Sarawak can claim carbon credit and be recognised as a green state.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2020/10/19/sarawak-needs-law-to-claim-carbon-credit-says-abang-johari/

So what exactly is this carbon credit that Abang Johari is talking about and what is green state? Well, the key to understanding this starts with something called carbon footprints and carbon footprint corresponds to the whole amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced to, directly and indirectly, support a person’s lifestyle and activities.

Carbon footprints are usually measured in equivalent tons of CO2, during the period of a year, and they can be associated with an individual, an organization, a product or an event, among others.

Wide scale deforestation is a significant contributor to carbon footprints and the consequential global warming. 

Carbon credits and carbon tradings are mechanisms put in place by countries who are parties to the Kyoto Protocols and the Paris Agreement to control the emission of greenhouse gas and reduce global warming. Developing countries like Malaysia whose greenhouse emission is presently relatively high can use carbon credits earned from efforts to progressively reduce their rate of emission while promoting renewable energy. In other words, carbon emissions trading allows countries that have higher carbon emissions to purchase the right to release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from countries that have lower carbon emissions. It is a little like sin tax.

The thing to note here is that while Malaysia did ratify the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris agreement these two treaties are not binding on Malaysia because Malaysia is on the non-annexed list of developing countries. Incidentally, both the Kyoto Protocols and Paris Agreement are initiatives of the United Nation. Because Malaysia is not fully bound to the two agreements the question of Malaysia trading carbon credits does not arise. That Abang Johari mentioned that Sarawak does not have provisions in its law to treat carbon credit as a trading commodity is even more perplexing because carbon credit trading can occur only with the framework of the two treaties mentioned and the treaties are between nations that are fully and legally bound by the terms of the treaties. In short, these two treaties is the business of the federal government and the Sarawak government has no direct voice in the workings of these treaties in Malaysia.

https://magazine.scientificmalaysian.com/issue-13-2017/tackling-climate-change-malaysias-emission-reduction-target/

There is however the small possibility that Abang Johari has decided that he does not want to be controlled by the Malaya-driven federal government any more. And he wants Sarawak to have the necessary state laws to empower the Sarawak government to ‘fully ratify’ and be completely and legally bound to the two treaties, for the good of Sarawak. That of course will automatically mean that he is pushing forward the idea that Sarawak is a sovereign state (equal partner) within Malaysia and furthering the full and complete autonomy agenda under MA63. If this is the case, I am certain he has the unequivocal support of all Sarawakians, provided he carry the plan through. 

Sarawakians should now strongly urged Abang Johari to apply to the UN to allow Sarawak to be a party to the Kyoto Protocols and to the Paris Agreement and thereafter to ratify these two treaties. Once that is done Sarawak DUN must legislate a state law to ensure full compliance by all parties involved in the industry.

Sarawak’s stake in the oil palm industry was recently increased when the Sarawak government agreed to buy all of Tabung Haji’s plantations in Sarawak. The plantations were collectively valued at RM1.42 billion. That is the equivalent of 48% of the SST paid by Petronas to Sarawak. So it stands to reason that it must do all it possibly can to get in the good books of consumers in the EU countries and in the US.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/newsbreak-th-plantations-advanced-talks-sell-assets-sarawak

So, what has bio-gas from oil palm bio-waste got to do with carbon credits and green state status for Sarawak? Truth be told, I really don’t know. The main issue with the EU countries and the US over Malaysia’s oil palm is wide scale deforestation, cause of high carbon dioxide emission and global warming and, generating bio-gas from oil palm bio waste may be in line with the global trends of favoring renewable energy but it will not make the deforestation issue disappear.

There is the other issue about the viability of investments in plants for bio-gas in Sarawak. A study conducted not too long ago shows that one key issue among plantation companies is the high capital investment in the generating plants. Even if the mills are in close proximity to SEB’s grid, the Sarawak government will still not be able to compel any mill owners to build bio-gas generating plant as presently Sarawak does not have have ‘purpose built’ or dedicated ordinance that govern bio-gas industry in Sarawak.

Renewable energy is the future and CM Abang Johari looks determined and is fully prepared to bring Sarawak to make that quantum leap into the future. This is another area where Sarawakians must give their full support to Abang Johari. We there strongly urged him to lead the government, in the next sitting of the DUN, to legislate two crucial two ordinances namely the Renewable Energy Ordinance and Sustainable Energy Development Ordinance, patterned along the lines of the federal Renewable Energy Ordinance Act 2011 and the Sustainable Energy Development Act 2011. 

It would be quite safe to conclude that without these two initiatives, namely ratifying the two international treaties mentioned above and legislating laws that will give power to the government to implement the reforms to the industry, the oil palm industry will remain only as a channel to give huge tracts of land, very often NCR land of the dayaks, to the cronies of the government leaders.

Sarawakians will regard the initiatives mentioned above as one among your must do pre-PRN-12 Key Performance Indicators and will be closely monitored.

Over to you Abang Johari Sir.