KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia will launch a voluntary carbon market (VCM) by year end, with the aim of increasing transparency and enabling companies to buy carbon credits to offset their emissions.
The new exchange will encourage investments in high-quality offsetting projects, Bursa CEO Muhamad Umar Swift said in a statement.
He said such projects could include planting trees or switching to less-polluting fuels.
Critics say carbon offsets can allow companies or countries to keep polluting while paying someone else to take climate-friendly action.
Bursa will adopt the verified carbon standard, also known as Verra, to ensure the integrity of the carbon credits, it said.
We believe that the VCM exchange can serve as an important lever in realising Malaysia’s net-zero GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions aspiration, as well as supporting the private sector’s voluntary climate commitments and decarbonisation journey, Swift said.