RimbaWatch

Today, RimbaWatch published an analysis "Environmental Impacts of CCUS Initiatives in Malaysia". This analysis finds that CCUS initiatives in Malaysia could release more than 1.3 billion tCO2e emissions. The analysis is available on our website: rimbawatchmy.com.

RimbaWatch finds that a proposed residential development in Gohtong Jaya, Genting, will be located on portions of the Bukit Tinggi Forest Reserve which were degazetted without public consultation. Read more at rimbawatchmy.com

In this op-ed, RimbaWatch addresses the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability's response to our analysis into business interests present in Malaysia's last COP delegation. Read more at: eco-business.com/opinion/malays…

In this op-ed, RimbaWatch details the case for Malaysian banks to phase out fossil fuel financing and prioritise capital flows to renewable energy, including the need to manage litigation risks and align with climate science. Read at: theedgemalaysia.com/node/734022

A RimbaWatch analysis has found that, in Malaysia's delegation to COP, representatives of business interests, particularly fossil fuels, outnumbered the official delegation Read more at rimbawatchmy.com/publications

Today, RimbaWatch submitted our responses to the proposed climate change act. Read on our website at rimbawatchmy.com/reports

The Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP) is estimated to lock in 12.78 million tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to nearly all of Brunei's 2022 emissions, and is built on the degazetted Mengalong Forest Reserve, home to rare peat swamp ecosystems.

RimbaWatch calls for the Department of Environment to make a proposed fossil furl project's EIA public due to its high-risk environmental impacts, including proximity to a protected area, and contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

RimbaWatch has developed a draft Green Claims Guide, which aims to define what practices constitute greenwashing in Southeast Asia and will support our work in monitoring corporate greenwashing across the region. Read the public consultation in the link in bio.

Today, RimbaWatch and Greenpeace Malaysia, together with 23 Malaysian NGOs, publish a joint letter of objection to oil and gas developments in Tun Mustapha Park, on the basis that it will damage communities, livelihoods, biodiversity and the climate.

New from @hrw @RimbaWatch @save_rivers @bmfonds @borneoaction : Sarawak, Malaysia's largest state and home to millions of hectares of rainforest more ancient than the Amazon, is a high risk area for deforestation + violations of Indigenous peoples' rights.

In a Rapid Response published today, RimbaWatch finds that a production sharing contract for Block SB-403 is located within the Tun Mustapha Park in Sabah, an IUCN Category VI Protected Area, one of the key protected areas in the Coral Triangle.

In this Rapid Response report, we find that Sarawak's coal mining plans could result in a carbon lock-in of 190 million tCO2e and the loss of thousands of hectares of forest.

Apart from credibility concerns, this association to support sustainability-specific studies would also call into question the independence of the Scholarship and its scholars. For more details, read the full open letter at our linkinbio!

We believe that this association with Petronas is damaging to Chevening's reputation for 3 main reasons: the company is a key driver of global emissions, engages in greenwashing and is linked to human rights controversies (involving Indigenous communities) and biodiversity harm

In an open letter to the UK’s FCDO and the British High Commission in KL, RimbaWatch expressed concern over the new Chevening – Petronas Scholarship, aimed at “empowering two outstanding Malaysians (…) for a one-year master’s degree in sustainability at a top UK university”.

We call for the following actions to be taken: - The DOE to reject the EIA.  - ⁠⁠The Terengganu state govt to re-gazette the Belara Forest Reserve.  - ⁠⁠The Fed Govt to amend the EIA screening process ensuring projects inconsistent with legal frameworks are made ineligible.

The project poses threats to these carbon-intensive peat swamp forests and biodiversity, including the Malayan Tapir and Malayan Sun Bear. Further, it is inconsistent with commodity standards and the MSPO certification, making it commercially unviable & potentially illegal.

For more details, read our full Rapid Response report at the linkinbio.

Following these findings, we recommend that the governments of Sabah and Sarawak investigate these listings; for all plans to trade these lands to be cancelled; for all trade websites to introduce policies preventing the facilitation of deforestation.

RimbaWatch identified 9 land listings on Mudah.my and Facebook Marketplace advertising the sale of more than 80,000 hectares of forested land in Sabah and Sarawak.