Aerial view coal power plant.
JULY 2023 marked the hottest month recorded in human history.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), current policies are likely to lead to a dangerous 3.2°C rise in global temperatures – more than double the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement.
In Malaysia, where many livelihoods rest upon climate-dependent industries, the gap between national environmental policies and global climate mitigation is particularly troubling.
This gap is further widened by weaknesses in Malaysia’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, which among other things, fails to adequately address the greenhouse gas emissions from projects contributing to climate change.
What is an EIA?
An EIA is meant to identify, for the benefit of both the planning authority and the public that are affected, the impacts a project has on the environment.
In Malaysia, the process of conducting an EIA is governed primarily by Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) and the guidelines the director-general makes pursuant to his powers under the said Act, such as the 2016 EIA Guidelines.
It is noteworthy that guidelines of this nature are, according to the Court of Appeal in the Kajing Tubek case, non-binding.
Lacking GHG emissions requirements
While there is a requirement for a Malaysian EIA to consider a project’s “likely impact” on the “environment”, the EQA gives no indication as to what type of environmental impacts (for example, Scope 3 emissions) require consideration; what this means is that developers can often get away with omitting consideration of a number of crucial environmental impacts.
In particular, there is no specific requirement in the EQA or in any other legislation to consider full lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the mitigation measures proposed in EIAs.
This is in contrast to EIA processes in other jurisdictions, such as the European Union, where their EIA Directive establishes that European countries must conduct their EIAs with explicit reference to a project’s GHG emissions.
Yet, in Malaysia, there is no requirement to consider GHGs, or any thresholds to establish the limits on how much GHG a project can or should emit based on Malaysia’s remaining carbon budget.
This is evident in several EIAs for climate-risk projects reviewed by RimbaWatch, where there is only partial disclosure of expected GHG emissions, and no GHG mitigation measures are proposed.
Need to mitigate climate change
The omission of GHG emissions from the EIA process is an oversight that exacerbates Malaysia’s misalignment with global climate goals.
There is an urgent need to mitigate climate change while recognising the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which acknowledges that different countries have varying capacities and responsibilities in tackling climate change.
As the largest exporter of liquefied fossil gas in Asia, a product which is one of the world’s highest-emitting fuel sources, Malaysia is a significant emitter on the global stage.
Exemplifying this, Malaysia’s national oil and gas company is listed in the latest Carbon Majors database as being the 24th highest emitting company in the world based on its emissions since the Paris Agreement.
Taking the energy sector as an example, the RimbaWatch Future Emissions Database reveals at least 67 proposed fossil fuel projects in the country, each projected to contribute millions of tonnes of carbon lock-in.
For instance, the Rosmari-Marjoram field, which received EIA approval in 2022, will allow the extraction of 800 million standard cubic feet of fossil gas per day for the next 20 years.
This project alone is expected to generate 20 million tonnes of GHG emissions annually—equivalent to the annual emissions of entire countries, such as Lithuania.
Over its lifespan, this development could release a staggering 157 million tonnes of planet-warming GHGs.
This stark reality highlights the need for a robust EIA framework, one which includes GHG emissions, that aligns Malaysian policy with global climate objectives.
Call for enhanced EIAs
As made clear by a recent Global Energy Monitor report, fossil fuel expansion in Malaysia threatens global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C; echoing the IPCC’s warning that any further fossil fuel development is incompatible with a climate-safe future.
To avoid contributing to catastrophic climate change, Malaysia must adopt a whole-of-nation approach that aligns its domestic economic activities with global climate goals.
This requires updating key environmental legislation, like the EQA and its attendant provisions on EIAs, to reflect the latest climate science.
Malaysia can look to models like New South Wales, Australia and South Africa, where projects exceeding specific emissions thresholds are required to propose meaningful mitigation measures – or face rejection.
By strengthening its EIA framework, Malaysia has the opportunity to protect its environment and contribute to the global fight against climate change.
