Bank Negara Malaysia Establishes Joint Committee on Climate Change for Building Climate Risk Resilience Within the Malaysia Financial Sector
Kuala Lumpur – Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank, has established a Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3), which “is intended to pursue collaborative actions for building climate resilience within the Malaysia financial sector.” The Islamic banking and finance system currently account for some 32 % of the overall Malaysian banking system.
The JC3 is co-chaired by BNM Deputy Governor Jessica Chew Cheng Lian and Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) Deputy Chief Executive Datuk Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin. Members comprise senior officials from Bursa Malaysia and 19 industry players.
According to BNM, the JC3 will be guided by three key mandates:
- building capacity through sharing of knowledge, expertise and best practices in assessing and managing climate-related risks;
- identifying issues, challenges and priorities facing the financial sector in managing the transition towards a low carbon economy; and
- facilitating collaboration between stakeholders in advancing coordinated solutions to address arising challenges and issues.
The JC3 held its inaugural meeting on 27 September on the sidelines of the successful Regional Conference on Climate Change in Kuala Lumpur. “The JC3 recognised the urgent need to accelerate responses towards ensuring a smooth and orderly transition to a low-carbon economy. This includes managing exposures to climate risks and facilitating businesses to transition towards sustainable practices. To take this forward, the meeting agreed to form four sub-committees focusing on risk management; governance and disclosure; product and innovation; and engagement and capacity building,” revealed BNM in a statement.