Bank Negara Malaysia (“Bank”) today announces the formation of the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3). The JC3 is intended to pursue collaborative actions for building climate resilience within the Malaysia financial sector.

The JC3 is co-chaired by Deputy Governor Jessica Chew Cheng Lian from the Bank and Deputy Chief Executive Datuk Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin from Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). Members comprise senior officials from Bursa Malaysia and 19 industry players. The JC3 will be guided by three key mandates –

1. building capacity through sharing of knowledge, expertise and best practices in assessing and managing climate-related risks;
2. identifying issues, challenges and priorities facing the financial sector in managing the transition towards a low carbon economy; and
3. facilitating collaboration between stakeholders in advancing coordinated solutions to address arising challenges and issues.

On 27 September 2019, the JC3 held its inaugural meeting following the successful conclusion of the Regional Conference on Climate Change which took place from 25 to 27 September 2019. 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:

1. risk management;
2. governance and disclosure;
3. product and innovation; and
4. engagement and capacity building.