PUTRAJAYA, July 6 — The Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA) is preparing carbon market guidelines and a carbon pricing policy to provide clear guidance to those who want to get involved in the voluntary carbon market, said its minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

He said the government needed to ensure that carbon trading activities did not affect the country’s greenhouse gas emission reduction achievements, especially regarding the "Nationally Determined Contribution” (NDC).

He said it was important for Malaysia to finalise the NDC and complete the relevant policy documents before the country set its carbon pathway and announced the country’s new target to achieve "net zero”.

Net zero refers to zero carbon dioxide emissions in the interest of the environment while the NDC covers a country’s plan on climate change outlined under the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Tuan Ibrahim said this while speaking virtually at the launch of the book The Tree, The Sky, The Sun: A Pathway towards Malaysia’s Carbon Neutral Future today.

The book, an initiative of Shell Malaysia with other stakeholders, chronicles the scenario of how Malaysia can achieve low carbon development by 2065. — Bernama