@Green September/October 2025 | Page 2

@ green says...

While Budget 2026 lays the groundwork for Malaysia’ s green transition, its ambition is still constrained by caution. The introduction of a carbon tax is a historic step, yet crucial details— tax rate, coverage, and revenue allocation— remain undefined.

Without clear reinvestment mechanisms, the tax risks are symbolic rather than transformative.

The renewable energy agenda, though wellframed, lacks aggressive timelines and funding certainty. No new allocation was explicitly earmarked for large-scale solar or grid modernisation, leaving implementation dependent on private capital and state-level follow-through.

Environmental protection measures also lean heavily on rhetoric; tangible commitments for forest restoration, biodiversity corridors, and pollution control remain modest.

Equally, ESG mainstreaming stops short of enforceability. Incentives abound, but there are few compliance penalties or reporting mandates for laggard sectors.

Malaysia’ s green growth blueprint will falter unless institutions— from local councils to listed companies— are held accountable for measurable outcomes.

In short, Budget 2026 gets the narrative right but the instruments are half-ready. The challenge ahead lies not in aspiration, but in execution— ensuring Malaysia’ s“ green turn” becomes a sustained, systemic transformation, not another policy cycle.

P04-05 | LOCAL NEWS

� Building the future, sustainably

� ASEAN-Japan green push

P06 | FOCUS

� Citaglobal fuels a greener future

� Citaglobal and Keppel Decarb will convert palm oil and agricultural waste into bio-CNG, thereby strengthening Malaysia’ s circular economy model.

P08-09 NATIONAL ENERGY AWARDS 2025

� Powering the next leap

� A new electricity tariff structure was introduced in July 2025 to encourage efficiency and lower carbon use.

P10 | IGEM 2025 Racing towards net zero

� As Malaysia assumes the ASEAN chairmanship, IGEM 2025 will serve as the region’ s flagship platform for advancing the green economy.

P12-13 | COVER STORY

� New growth narrative

� The new carbon tax and forthcoming CCUS Act mark Malaysia’ s transition from voluntary climate statements to enforceable market-based climate governance.

P14-15 | FEATURE

� The silent carbon war

� Modern conflicts— from Ukraine to Gaza— emit greenhouse gases on a scale comparable to entire nations, yet war-related emissions remain excluded from international climate reporting and accountability frameworks.

P16-17 | COP30

� Momentum gathers

� Major economies like China and Nigeria joined others in committing to economy-wide reductions.

� Encouraging Bonn talks

P18 | SABAH

� Powering Malaysia’ s green future

� Sabah could supply up to 75 per cent of Malaysia’ s green energy under SE- RAMP 2040, reinforcing its role in national energy security.