Time running out for Sabah to take control of its carbon sovereignty, activists and state reps warn

The Star

02-07-2025

KOTA KINABALU: Environmental groups and state leaders want Sabah to assert its rights before the Climate Change Bill is tabled in Parliament this year or risk losing control of its carbon assets, just as it did with oil and gas.
They warn that without firm state legislation in place, Sabah may be forced to comply with federal climate policies drafted without its full input, repeating past mistakes that cost the state control over petroleum, palm oil, and its territorial seas.
The state does not have a clear carbon policy even after the Sabah Climate Action Council was set up last year, they noted.
Concerns are also mounting that Putrajaya may fast-track national climate laws that override state jurisdiction, weakening Sabah's ability to manage its own forests – the very ecosystems that make it Malaysia's largest carbon sink.
Environmental NGO Future Alam Borneo chairman Anton Ngui said Sabah must act decisively before it is too late.
"If we fail to assert our rights over our carbon resources, we risk losing control over one of our most valuable assets.
'Sabah is a net carbon sink, and we should be in a leadership position when it comes to national climate decisions and international representation,' he said in a statement on Wednesday (July 2).
Anton said Sabah's ecological advantage is also an untapped economic opportunity that could push the state forward in climate finance, green technology and sustainability-linked investment.
'There is an opportunity here for Sabah to be in a globally significant position. This can complement our labour-intensive agriculture sector and sputtering industrialisation plan,' he said.
He urged Sabah leaders to be 'on the ball' and insist on strong state representation at the federal level.
'Once again, we are staring at the possibility of Sabah being legislated out of its own forests if we remain slow or silent," he said.
Earlier this year, Sabah Climate Change adviser Datuk Darrel Webber, when speaking at the Carbon Sovereign Sabah (CSS) briefing, said Sabah's decades-long forest conservation efforts have made it a vital carbon sink that offsets emissions from other regions.
'It is crucial that Sabah does not lose its ability to manage these resources. Once control is lost, it is very difficult to reclaim,' he warned.
Tungku assemblyman Assaffal Panglima Alian echoed these concerns and called for stronger, state-led legal frameworks to protect Sabah's interests.
Senator Datuk Nelson Wences Angang said that while federal climate efforts are commendable, Sabah must have a seat at the table to ensure its rights are not sidelined.
WWF-Malaysia's head of conservation for Sabah, Dr Robecca Jumin, noted that Sabah had already taken a step forward by amending its Forest Enactment 1968 to pave the way for carbon governance.
'But delays in building on that momentum could weaken Sabah's position, especially once federal laws are in place,' she said.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan also addressed the issue in the state assembly in June last year, warning that Sabah must move quickly to pass its own carbon legislation or risk being boxed in by national policies.