Bursa Carbon Exchange (“BCX”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia”), will be hosting the highly anticipated auction of its first Malaysian carbon credits on 25 July 2024. The auction of carbon credits from the Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project (‘Kuamut Project’) marks a significant milestone for BCX on several fronts – the offering of its first Malaysia Nature-based Carbon Credits Plus (MNC+) generated via a domestic forestry project; and the expansion of BCX’s product offering to include local carbon credits in addition to global carbon credits.
Located in the Tongod and Kinabatangan districts in Sabah, Malaysia, the Kuamut Project protects and restores 83,381 hectares of tropical forest. The project is a public-private partnership between Sabah Forestry Department, Rakyat Berjaya Sdn Bhd, Yayasan Sabah and Permian Malaysia, who is the project proponent. The project also receives operational support from PACOS Trust and the Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP). At the end of March 2024, the project saw its maiden issuance of Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) under Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), resulting in an estimated annual emission reduction of 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). The project also simultaneously delivers tangible climate, community and biodiversity co-benefits, earning itself a Gold Level for Climate status under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standards.
According to Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia, “This is a historic moment as we welcome the first Malaysian nature-based carbon project onto BCX. Given the importance of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) in the nation’s climate agenda, the offering of the Kuamut Project carbon credits is a significant milestone, indicating the country’s environmental leadership. It signals to the world that Malaysia is serious about climate action and its climate ambition. We are committed to advance the transition towards a lower carbon economy by developing a supportive VCM ecosystem through BCX.”
Elaborating on the significance of the auction, he said, “It is hoped that this auction will generate greater interest among domestic and international business communities to invest in more carbon projects in Malaysia, given the rich potential for both nature and technology-based carbon project development in this country.”
Stephen Rumsey, founder and Chairman of Permian Global, said: "We are incredibly grateful to Bursa Malaysia for their vision and leadership in developing the Carbon Exchange and especially for their support of the Kuamut Project.”
"Climate action requires system-wide transformation. This means the rapid development of high-integrity, high-impact actions on the ground, like the Kuamut Project, but it also means building the financial infrastructure that drives investment in these vital activities. BCX is an enormously important piece in the climate puzzle."
The Kuamut Project currently contributes towards 12 of the 17 goals and targets under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in addition to verifiable emissions reduction.
A briefing on the Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project auction will be held on 16 May 2024. Those interested can register at https://bcx.bursamalaysia.com/web/ auctiondetails2 or call BCX at +603 2034 7788.
Photo credit: Permian Global
APPENDIX
About Permian Malaysia/Permian Global
Permian Malaysia manages the Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project and is a subsidiary of Permian Global. Permian Global is a business that is working for the protection and recovery of natural tropical forests. By developing and running tropical forest projects, where carbon remains locked away within the growing biomass and soils, Permian Global generates high-quality Verified Emission Units (VEUs), or carbon credits. In parallel with carbon emissions mitigation through Permian projects, it maximises the associated positive benefits, in terms of ecological and social gains. Permian Global has teams in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Peru. For more information, visit www.permianglobal.com.
About Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project
The Kuamut Rainforest Conservation Project (‘Kuamut Project’) is protecting and restoring 83,381 ha of tropical forest in the Tongod and Kinabatangan districts of Sabah, Malaysia. It is managed by Permian Malaysia in partnership with Sabah Forestry Department, Rakyat Berjaya Sdn. Bhd., Yayasan Sabah, with support from PACOS Trust and South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP). The public-private partnership provides transparency over the project’s scientific and community development credibility. It generates an estimated annual emission reduction of 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).
The project has three core objectives:
- To protect and restore the carbon-rich forest to help mitigate the global climate crisis;
- To improve the lives, well-being, and sustainable economic opportunities of the communities living around the forest area; and
- To increase the chances for tropical forest biodiversity to thrive.
Prior to the start of the project, the forest area was a Class II production forest and was designated for further commercial use. The Kuamut Project additionality is demonstrated through the prevention of 84,000 hectares of commercial logging, over a 30-year period. Without this intervention, the resulting carbon emissions over this period would have added 16 million tCO2e into the atmosphere.
Management of the area ensures the long-term sustainable protection and restoration of the forest resource, including its biodiversity. Despite being a previously logged forest, the project protects the habitat of 29 mammal and 12 bird species in the project areas, which are considered as Rare, Threatened or Endangered (RTE) species. The area is known to support significant populations of important and threatened species, including orangutans, banteng, elephants, clouded leopard, sun bear, and bird species including Helmeted Hornbill, Storms Stork, Bornean Peacock Pheasant.
The Kuamut Project is also improving the well-being of over 3,000 local community members from the Kuamut and the Karamuak communities. These activities are being assessed by their contributions to the goals and targets of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. The project is currently contributing towards 12 of the 17 UN goals.
Source: Permian Global
