MALAYSIAN CIVIL SOCIETY DEMANDS AT COP27

KAMY Team

Published in

Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY)

5 min readNov 16, 2022

The Malaysian Civil Societies present at COP27 submitted a list of demands for COP27:

Malaysian Civil Society Demands to the Malaysian delegation :

1. We demand conducting stakeholders consultations for civil society and NGOs two months prior to COP as an obligation from the national delegation or the UNFCCC focal point, Kementerian Air dan Alam Sekitar (KASA).

a) We demand meaningful participation of the Malaysian people as stakeholders to ensure the realities of the people on the ground are addressed in the negotiations. This includes:

Indigenous People from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsula Malaysia to safeguard fair representation.
Non-governmental actors and experts
Civil society actors

b) We demand KASA to release Malaysia’s key expectations and activities in COP negotiations to the civil society at least three months before the COP negotiations to ensure meaningful engagement.

2. We demand KASA release to the Malaysian people the progress of the pledges Malaysia has made since COP26, such as the Global Methane Pledge and Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. All the new pledges/initiatives should be incorporated in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to ensure meaningful implementation.

3. We demand fair representation in the national delegation participation in COP27.

a) The Malaysian national delegation must enable inclusive participation from Indigenous People in the Malaysian government’s delegation to COP27 to include government agencies representative and grassroots community leaders selected by Indigenous associations from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

4. We demand Malaysia expedite the National Adaptation Plan.

a) In 2022, no stakeholder consultation with civil societies was conducted by the National Focal point of UNFCCC, KASA. We demand that the progress be released to the Malaysian people.

b) Design an adaptation plan not only for businesses and sectors but also actions to address vulnerability risks of the common people and empower vulnerable groups like women and Indigenous communities.

5. We demand Malaysia take stronger positions with Like-Minded Developing Countries to necessitate the delivery of means of implementation, including provision of climate finance & the establishment of loss and damage funding and to put in a process in place to ensure its operationalisation.

Collective COP27 Demands from the Indigenous People of Malaysia

6. We demand recognition and respect for indigenous customary knowledge and the role of Indigenous Peoples including womens, youths and persons with disabilities in adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage.

a) Governments must include Indigenous people including womens, youths and persons with disabilities in decision-making when forming climate policies to protect human rights in climate governance. National delegates must recognise that respecting indigenous knowledge and customary practices promotes sustainable development, equity, and effective environmental management- this has been reaffirmed by article 31 of UNDRIP.

b) COP27 must ensure that human rights experts, Indigenous peoples, environmental and human rights defenders, and representatives of frontline communities can participate in the technical dialogue and roundtables and facilitate and lead some of the discussions.

7. We demand human rights protection at the centre of Just Transition.

a) Just transition must not come at the cost of environmental harm or Indigenous land, territories and resources rights. They cannot be repeated victims in this ‘green’ progress.

b) Some ‘renewable’ projects, such as mega dams and carbon offset projects in Malaysia, have ignored meaningful Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) and disempower already marginalised Indigenous communities from managing their land, territories and natural resources in sustainable ways to protect their environment, and thus, providing dignified income, energy access and nurturing their culture.

c) Every person, especially Indigenous Peoples have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

8. We demand the uprooting of false solutions and carbon colonialism.

a) Net zero target without concrete plans to divest from fossil gas is greenwashing.

b) Ensuring mandatory procedural protection such as access to information, meaningful FPIC and public participation, and implementing monitoring frameworks could deter businesses from abusing human rights and enabling harmful greenwashing practices.

c) Carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities are harmful, risky, expensive, and counter-productive to extend the life of fossil fuels. The science is clear that we must urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions, and remove CO2 from the atmosphere, to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

d) A carbon offset is not based on science. Forests cannot absorb the massive amount of additional carbon in the atmosphere from the fossil fuel industry. Forest carbon cannot be used to offset or justify the continued expansion and pollution of the fossil fuel industry. With the limited carbon budget, there is no room for offsets.

Contributions and endorsements from :

PACOS Trust
Persatuan Mahasiswa Orang Asli (PMOA)
Community representatives from Rompin (Weaving Hopes for the Future)
SAVE Rivers
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)
Persatuan Kesedaran dan Keadilan Iklim Malaysia (Klima Action Malaysia — KAMY)

Update :

We have submitted this demand to the Malaysian Delegation to COP27 on the 16th November 2022 at the Malaysian Pavillion in Sharm El Sheikh by three of the members of Weaving Hopes for the Future; Aroe Ajoeni, Diana and Eliana

We have submitted this demand to the the newly appointed Natural Resource, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) minister, Tuan Nik Nazmi on the 13th December 2022.

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