The Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) has announced five key initiatives to expedite the transition of businesses and farmers towards low-carbon practices.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) has unveiled initiatives to support the nation’s inclusive transition to a greener economy, including a RM1 billion portfolio guarantee scheme.
The initiatives were announced during the three-day JC3 Journey to Zero Conference which commenced today.
The initiatives include the setting up of Greening Industrial Parks, a Green AgriTech programme, a Greening Value Chain programme with Bursa Malaysia, and an environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) jump-start portal.
In a statement, JC3 said the Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd, in partnership with 18 participating banks, will offer the RM1 billion portfolio guarantee scheme for ESG financing in a bid to support
wider access to financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Meanwhile, the Greening Industrial Parks will be developed in partnership with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti), the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and Sirim Bhd.
The pilot project aims to transition the management of industrial parks and operations of their tenant companies to low-carbon and sustainable practices.
"These include developing infrastructure such as integrated waste management, the use of renewable energy, measurement, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as verification systems,” said the statement.
JC3 is also taking steps to further empower the agriculture sector via a collaborative partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang (LPP), and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to pilot the Green AgriTech programme.
The key focus is on the ESG agenda for the agriculture sector, with the programme aiming to encourage the adoption of green technology and sustainable agriculture practices among local farmers.
The JC3 also issued the 2023 Climate Data Catalogue on its website today, reflecting the latest set of data needs and sources.
"The 2023 catalogue is more comprehensive, incorporating additional data items compared to the first version issued in December 2022,” said JC3, adding that the latest release now features a total of 249 granular data items mapped to 399 data sources from 135 data providers.
JC3 said the Greening Value Chain programme with Bursa Malaysia was developed following the positive outcomes from the JC3 Greening Value Chain (GVC) pilot programme.
The GVC pilot programme was announced in 2022 in conjunction with Finance Day at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and is now collaborating with Bursa Malaysia’s Centralised Sustainability Intelligence Platform.
"Through the collaboration, more SMEs within the supply chain of public listed companies can benefit from capacity-building support, GHG emissions reporting tools, and transition finance facilities,” it noted.
In addition, a one-stop online portal for SMEs to access foundational information to jump-start their sustainability journey is now available on the JC3 website and contains valuable and practical information on capacity-building programmes, certification schemes, and financial and incentive schemes.
"The very ethos of the governing frameworks of this administration, namely the Malaysia Madani and Ekonomi Madani, have sustainability at their core.
"Since taking office, we have set into place various measures to both contribute to climate action and transform our economy,” said Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
Bank Negara Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the central bank will continue to provide a facilitative policy environment for the industry to advance financial innovations and explore novel structures needed to meet the significant financing needs for climate risk mitigation and adaptation.
This includes a more prominent role for public-private partnerships and innovative blended finance structures, he said.
JC3 is a platform established in September 2019 to pursue collaborative actions for building climate
resilience within the Malaysian financial sector.
It is co-chaired by Bank Negara Deputy Governor Datuk Jessica Chew Cheng Lian, and Securities Commission Malaysia managing director Datuk Kamarudin Hashim, with members comprising senior officials from Bursa Malaysia and 21 financial industry players. - Bernama
