The National Policy on Climate Change was introduced in 2009 to mainstream climate change, provide policies, and strengthen institutions to reduce climate change impacts. Ten years later, the government announced that efforts were in place to introduce a Climate Change Act.

Changes in Government led to some delays but encouragingly the Ministry of Environment and Water confirmed in late 2020 that the Act was still in consideration. In September 2021, the Government announced under the 12th Malaysia Plan that legislation on climate change would be formulated to increase coordination and enhance the effectiveness of climate change actions. Most recently, the Ministry of Environment and Water announced that the ministry and other agencies are presently drafting the National Climate Change Legal Framework, which will set the foundation for a Climate Change Act that is expected to come into force in 2024.

While there is little public information on the contents of the proposed Act, we can arrive at some views on what should be included in the Act by looking at other jurisdictions, such as the UK and Australia.

In this article, our Partner Amin Abdul Majid of the Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities Practice Group of Zaid Ibrahim & Co. (a member of ZICO Law) will discuss the common ingredients of climate change legislation that can be an indicative guide to what should be expected in our Climate Change Act.