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This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 22, 2025 - December 28, 2025 The Malaysian government is expected to table the National Climate Change Bill (also known as the RUUPIN) in parliament in the coming months, providing a legal framework for climate action and anchoring market-based financing for adaptation and resilience. Malaysia’s global climate pledges, including the goal of cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030, were reaffirmed by t

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 24, 2025 - November 30, 2025 Across sectors and over recent years, increasingly sustainability has become part of every strategy presentation and annual report. Boards of directors have been signing on to net zero commitments, investors scrutinising environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and consumers rewarding responsible brands. Yet, when it comes to decisive action on climate, progre

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 27, 2025 - November 2, 2025 “The investor-state dispute settlement system, with its roots in colonialism and extractivism, is not fit for purpose in the 21st century because it prioritises the interests of foreign investors over the rights of states, human rights and the environment.”  — David Boyd, 2nd UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment “Investor-state dispute settlement mechanis

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 18, 2025 - August 24, 2025 Malaysia’s energy transition is at a critical juncture. The energy sector accounts for nearly 80% of national greenhouse gas emissions, placing it at the heart of the country’s decarbonisation efforts. Yet the transition must also ensure energy security and continued economic development. In addition, Malaysia faces unique challenges: federal-state governance complexities; subs

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 28, 2025 - May 4, 2025 In April 2016, as part of a nature conservation organisation, I found myself in a small canoe travelling upriver on the Caura, a tributary of the mighty Orinoco. This biodiversity-rich Venezuelan watershed borders the Amazon basin and is home to several indigenous tribes and local communities who roam the jungles in search of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). At that time of year,

KUALA LUMPUR (April 8): Malaysia is committed to continuing taking climate action, assisting businesses in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures, and adopting sustainability reporting, said speakers at the first day of the National Climate Governance Summit (NCGS) held in Sasana Kijang on Monday (April 7). In fact, Malaysia joined the international forum for climate action, Climate Club, as recently as in March, to demonstrate its commitment to global decarb

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 24, 2025 - March 2, 2025 Climate Governance Malaysia (CGM) recently submitted feedback to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the climate change bill (RUUPIN or Rang Undang-Undang Perubahan Iklim Negara). Malaysia’s proposed climate change bill seeks to establish a framework for national climate action in alignment with the Paris Agreement. In our submission, CGM outlined key concerns

Two decades ago, visionary leaders in our industry created a global platform for a sustainable palm oil industry. In the years since, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has catalysed a transformation in sustainability standards and practices in global vegetable oils. But global sustainability challenges are still growing, with existential consequences for our natural resources, food systems and the workers and communities at the heart of our production system. Glob

Throughout history, human-wildlife conflict has posed problems to farmers. Until the late 20th century, this was normally addressed by killing wildlife. Whether one follows the 1980 World Conservation Strategy approach that regards wildlife as just a means to help support human economic well-being, or prefers a more philosophical and ethical rationale, wildlife, especially threatened species, now needs urgent attention. Large wild animals have now been squeezed into clusters

What can we learn about coping with climate change from the crash of the cargo ship Dali into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the US? Dali lost both engine power and its generator at the same time, leaving it adrift and unable to correct its course. The bridge was fully up to code when constructed in 1972, but the size of cargo ships has increased more than tenfold since then. Dali had an experienced pilot who recognised the impending disaster. With just three minu

The first ever global stocktake that was presented at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 28) in November 2023 found that the world is not on track to achieve the goals set out in Paris in 2015. This was of no surprise to anyone. The report went on to highlight the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 43%, 60% and 84% from 2019 levels by 2030, 2035 and 2050 respectively to limit global warming to 1.5°C. For pers

With the increasing frequency and severity of climate-related disaster situations, the Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (APM), or Malaysian Civil Defence Force, has seen rising demand for its services in recent years. As climate change worsens, APM is being called upon to respond to a broader range of disasters, including floods, landslides, tropical storms and extreme heat events. These disasters not only endanger public safety but also put a strain on infrastructure, resou

Large-scale land and forest fires regularly impact 30 million to 50 million hectares of land in Southeast Asia. These fires can generate smoke clouds covering hundreds of millions of hectares for months at a time, resulting in transboundary smoke haze that has severely impacted parts of all 10 ASEAN member states (AMS). As a result, over the past 25 years, the ASEAN region has experienced economic losses of hundreds of billions of US dollars together with immense social cost

Web 2.0 made it easier for anyone to debate, share opinions, and connect with like-minded individuals and groups like never before. This gave corporations the extraordinary opportunity to participate in the same way, and convey their values and personality beyond the mere utility of their products and services. While businesses previously may have believed that it was best not to air their opinions on social matters, the cultural shift of a participatory internet has encourag

Scientists have been telling us for years that despite the international consensus in 2015 (culminating in the Paris Agreement) to keep the global planet to within 1.5°C of pre-industrial temperatures, we are unlikely to achieve this. Worse, this year is the hottest on record. At least a third of days were over the 1.5°C threshold. Also, there is consensus we are more likely to be over 2°C above benchmarks by the end of 2030 with much worse to come. UN secretary-general Antón

I am hopeful that the upcoming COP 28 climate summit will give nature the role it deserves in our fight against climate change. The COP 28 Presidency’s Action Agenda is ambitious and to the point, with a focus on fast-tracking the energy transition by slashing emissions before 2030. Importantly, the agenda will centre on nature, people, lives and livelihoods, thus recognising the intrinsic link between climate change, nature loss and inequality. And we have no time to lose. I

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 24, 2023 - July 30, 2023 I have been extremely privileged to have seen some of the wildlife of this mega­diverse country up close, and I have many memories to take with me back to the UK: a nesting hornbill in Terengganu; a fleeting glimpse of a clouded leopard in the Danum Valley; and the wonder of the bats of the Mulu caves. As I conclude my four years as British High Commissioner to Malaysia, I want to

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 24, 2023 - April 30, 2023. The Endau-Rompin river delineating the border of Johor and Pahang in the southeast of the Malaysian peninsula is a gentle, wise and ancient being. Old man river. It has a lazy flow of ochre-hued water from the mud that it carries from its rain-fed catchment areas upstream, as it gently winds along the border of the two states. Standing on the banks of the river in Tanah Abang, a

A crisis can bring out the best in critical thinking — a prized attribute of leadership — especially in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. Now, more than ever, facing the climate crisis head on, we are relying on the directors of company boards to have essential leadership skills such as critical thinking, strategic thinking and managing market and regulatory ambiguity. Human civilization has thrived over millennia within a very narrow climatic envelop

It is my hope that leaders and young people alike will rise to the challenge of protecting the earth from further devastation. Taking part in several events at the COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, I took the opportunity to highlight both the urgent need for action to protect the forests in Pahang and the projects already undertaken to ensure the rehabilitation of the forests. One event was the launching of the COP27 Malaysia Pavilion, where my opening addre