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Kota Kinabalu: Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX) is set to auction Malaysia’s First Carbon Credits from Sabah’s Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project in Tongod and Kinabatangan from RM50 come July 25.

This was revealed by EVP and Head of Carbon Market, Bursa Malaysia Dr Wei-nee Chen, in her paper: “How can Sabah be part of the national carbon trading mechanism?” at the recent Sabah Oil, Gas & Energy Conference & Exhibition 2024 (Sogce’ 24.

“Sabah is an important state in the national carbon market, being the first state that generates verified carbon credits from Verra,” she said, adding with that nature-based solutions development, Sabah is on the world’s carbon market watch for starting this Malaysian Nature-Based Carbon Credits Auction.

Verra sets the world’s leading standards for voluntary carbon, forest, land use and plastic projects in climate action and sustainable development. 

The Verra Project ID for the 83,381 hectares Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project is 2609.

With its estimated annual emissions reductions – 800,000 tCO2eq per year, the Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project is rated best in Class, one of the highest rated IFM projects in the world, by BeZero.

This reafforestation project is a public-private partnership between Sabah Forestry Department, Yayasan Sabah and Rakyat Berjaya, and tropical forest developer, Permian Global. 

The co-benefits are positively impacting climate, community and biodiversity in conserving endangered species, improving livelihoods, well-being and sustainable economic opportunities of local communities.

In her presentation slides, Dr Chen showed past news articles from Daily Express quoting Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Mohd Noor as saying: “With the Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project, Sabah is in a position to be a world leader in delivering effective and impactful forest carbon projects.

“Sabah is renowned for biodiverse forests and it is important that we do whatever is needed to preserve this.

“I want us to build on the Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project achievement, to protect as much of our forest as we can, and to lead the world in high-impact, scientifically robust conservation efforts that not only benefit nature but also the state and the people,” said Hajiji.

The BCX carbon market offers opportunities for purchasers of carbon credits to offset their companies’ residual emissions to reach their climate goals and to diversify to new low carbon business.

Voluntary carbon market like BCX supports host countries towards achieving their NDCs and Net Zero goals by channelling private financing into projects which avoid, reduce or remove GHG emissions from the atmosphere.

In 2024, Bursa Malaysia was rebranded as a multi-asset exchange. Aligning with this aspiration, BCX is pivoting to be a multi-environment products exchange.

Aside from carbon credit, on June 25, BCX also successfully auctioned Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) generated from Sarawak’s Murum Hydroelectric Plant which is developed and operated by Sarawak Energy

A total of 268,800 Hydropower Renewable Energy Certificates from vintage year 2024 were cleared at RM4.50 per Contract at the inaugural RECs auction on June 25.

“Sabah also has good technical potential to generate carbon credits from nature and technology-based carbon projects, for example, biogas and biochar from the palm oil sector,” Dr  Chen said.