Highlights:
- Bursa Malaysia outlines three enablers to spur development of Malaysia and ASEAN carbon markets.
- The ASEAN Common Carbon Framework (“ACCF”), an initiative conceptualised by Bursa Malaysia, continues to gain international recognition.
- Two Memorandums of Collaborations (“MoCs”), with Malaysia Forest Fund (“MFF”) and Sarawak Energy, forged to advance forest conservation and energy transition.
Bursa Carbon Exchange (“BCX”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia” or “the Exchange”), today hosted the third edition of the Malaysia Carbon Market Forum (“MCMF 2025”). The forum was graced by YB Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Minister of Plantation and Commodities and Acting Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (“NRES”), who also delivered the keynote address.
In alignment with Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN, this year’s forum carried the theme “Empowering Regional Climate Actions through the ASEAN Common Carbon Framework.” It focused on facilitating the development of a vibrant and sustainable carbon market ecosystem through knowledge sharing from leading experts, and networking across the broader ASEAN and international carbon market community.
In his opening speech, Dato’ Fad’l Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia emphasised three enablers to spur the development of carbon markets in Malaysia andASEAN, against the backdrop of global challenges faced by voluntary carbon markets.
Dato’ Fad’l said, “Firstly, support for domestic carbon credit utilisation. Last Friday, Malaysia tabled its Federal Budget 2026, which mentioned that a carbon tax will be implemented in 2026, with initial focus on the iron, steel, and energy sectors. From a market development perspective, domestic carbon credits should be considered for offsetting compliance emissions, to spur long-term demand, foster investor confidence and catalyse the growth of local carbon projects.”
“Secondly, we applaud NRES for the forward-looking provisions in the Climate Change Bill of Malaysia and the National Carbon Market Policy, which are currently being developed. We stand ready to
contribute in our role as provider of carbon market infrastructure to meet Nationally Determined Contribution (“NDC”) goals for Malaysia,” added Dato’ Fad’l.
“Thirdly, regional and global carbon market linkages. Under the ACCF, there is a mid- to long-term aspiration to link ASEAN carbon markets. Like other national exchanges, Bursa Malaysia has invested in our carbon market infrastructure. A successful ASEAN carbon market will depend on a robust supply of high-quality credits and interoperability, which can eventually connect to international carbon markets to meet global demand. Within this context, we encourage governments and authorities at sub-national levels to leverage on existing carbon market infrastructure to facilitate these linkages,” Dato’ Fad’l further said.
The ACCF was first conceptualised by Bursa Malaysia and subsequently adopted as one of the 12 priority initiatives by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (“ASEAN-BAC”) Malaysia during its chairmanship of ASEAN-BAC this year. At MCMF 2025, signatories of the ACCF convened and shared updates on progress of the framework. ACCF has gained increasing international and regional attention[1].
A key highlight of MCMF 2025 was the announcement of two MoCs with Malaysia Forest Fund (“MFF”) and Sarawak Energy, respectively, aimed at enhancing nature-based solutions and accelerating Malaysia’s energy transition. These MoCs complements BCX’s voluntary carbon and renewable energy certificates (“RECs”) markets.
BCX is the world’s first Shariah compliant carbon exchange launched at end of 2022. Today, BCX has extended its service offering to include Auction-as-a-Service (“AaaS”) to support the energy sector in efficiently looking for offtakers under long term agreement for either renewable energy or unbundled RECs.
Since its inception in 2023, the MCMF has served as BCX’s annual flagship forum to advance carbon market discourse and shape policies locally. The forum is endorsed by NRES and, for the second consecutive year, partnered with the International Emissions Trading Association (“IETA”). New strategic partners this year included the Ministry for the Environment (“MfE”) of New Zealand, MFF, and MCMA.
MCMF 2025 featured 39 speakers from international, regional and domestic climate and carbon market communities. Three high-level roundtables were also held in conjunction with the forum:
- The 15th Asia-Pacific Carbon Markets Roundtable, co-hosted by NRES and MfE;
- The ASEAN Carbon Market Alliance Roundtable, organised by the MCMA and hosted by Bursa Malaysia for ACCF signatory partners and carbon experts;
- The Business Partnership for Market Implementation roundtable, led by IETA in collaboration with PETRONAS.
These sessions fostered dialogue, knowledge exchange and collaboration among stakeholders, reinforcing Malaysia’s and ASEAN’s commitment to a low-carbon future.
This year’s MCMF attracted over 460 in-person and about 100 virtual attendees, including representatives from global and regional carbon communities. As part of BCX and Sarawak Energy’s community engagement efforts, artisans from the Bakun community in Sarawak were also invited to showcase their crafts, celebrating indigenous contributions to sustainability.
