KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has denied accusations of flawed data on greenhouse gas emissions being reported to the United Nations (UN).
The denial comes in light of an article published by the Washington Post on November 7 that named Malaysia as one of the countries allegedly under-reporting greenhouse gas emissions in the Biennial Update Report (BUR) submitted to the UN.
In a press statement yesterday, Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man refuted the claims, emphasising Malaysia’s committed involvement in the required procedures set by the UN.
He said under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) BUR process, Malaysia has undergone three sessions of International Consultative and Analysis (ICA) and two sessions of Facilitative Sharing of Views (FSV) thus far.
The ICA involves the assembly of technical experts by the UNFCCC to examine and analyse the BUR within six months of submission, while the FSV is the final process where countries share their report summaries and are subjected to further questioning.
“The whole process is based on transparency, accuracy, consistency, comparability, and completeness principles,” he said, adding that Malaysia regrets the action of the Washington Post in questioning the integrity of the UNFCCC process and outcome.
“Emissions from deforestation, croplands conversion, peatland drainage, forest fires, and commercial harvest are reported, as well as removals from forests and croplands.”
Tuan Ibrahim said the values reported are net values after subtracting the emissions.
“Information and values reported in the BUR undergo multiple stakeholder consultations involving data providers, experts, academicians, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector.
“A clear institutional arrangement is in place where a bottom-up approach is implemented, and these details are reflected in the BUR.
“Information used in developing the BUR is based on national data and published scientific literature,” Tuan Ibrahim said. – The Vibes, November 10, 2021
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