KUCHING: Sarawak is waiting for Parliament to pass federal legislation on carbon trading, said Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg today.
He said he was made to understand that Putrajaya would table a bill in Parliament in November to regulate carbon trading, including transboundary carbon transportation.
"At the moment, we don't have that kind of legislation," he said after witnessing the exchange of memoranda of understanding between the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Petronas, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation and ESG Malaysia.
He said Sarawak has a law on carbon trading, but it does not cover transboundary transportation.
He said the state government had submitted proposals to the federal government on the matter.
"For example, if we want to transport carbon to Singapore, we need a federal law because it involves government to government business."
Earlier in his speech, the premier said the state government would find a formula for the carbon trading business.
"In carbon trading, there is no definitive formula on how to charge.
"If it is based on the London Protocol, then Sarawak will look into it."
He said the state government would seek help from the World Bank on how much to charge or to determine the price of carbon.
He said the state government had been making effort to ensure carbon trading benefited Sarawak.
"The Sarawak government is quite advanced in this. We have amended our laws. They are very current.
"The federal level has no law yet. We have laws. The missing link is a law on transboundary carbon transportation."
He said the state government has to work with the federal government on this law.
The state already has laws on carbon capture, utilisation and storage, he said.