Opening Remarks at the Capacity Building Workshop for VCM Development

Speaker: Dato’ Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Chairman, Securities Commission Malaysia

Location: Kuala Lumpur
Delivered: 10 June 2026

His Excellency Ajay Sharma, British High Commissioner to Malaysia,
ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) members and participants,
Representatives from government ministries and agencies,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Assalammualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh and good morning.

It is my pleasure to welcome His Excellency Ajay Sharma to the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCM) Workshop.
I would like to first acknowledge the strong support provided by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through the ASEAN-UK Green Transition Fund (GTF) in accelerating the region’s transition towards sustainable and climate-resilient economies.
This is a much-appreciated contribution to our sustainable development agenda, which targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across key sectors, promote green economic growth and enhance the livelihoods of vulnerable communities.
Looking around, I am pleased to see a diverse range of stakeholders here today. I was told that we have strong representation from across the ecosystem, including ministries, government agencies, as well as key VCM stakeholders including project developers, validation and verification bodies, carbon market operators and industry associations.
Your presence underscores the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in strengthening the VCM ecosystem and advancing our shared sustainability objectives.

Urgency of climate action for ASEAN

Today’s workshop is quite timely. We are in the middle of an energy crisis that is heightening economic stress across ASEAN. The crisis however does not weaken the case for what we are doing as the urgency for climate action is clear. The challenge before us is how we can finance climate transition at the scale and speed required.
This is where carbon markets play a vital role. Credible, well-governed markets are key avenues to mobilise private capital towards clean energy investments, nature-based solutions and climate resilience projects for a low carbon future.
With extensive forests, mangroves, peatlands, and other nature-based assets, ASEAN has abundant natural resources to generate high-quality carbon credits. Crucially, there are spillover environmental and socio-economic benefits; potentially up to US$ 3 trillion worth of economic value for ASEAN by 2050¹.
It is precisely this opportunity that underscores the importance of developing credible, transparent and well-functioning VCMs for our region.

ACMF Voluntary Carbon Market work

Last year, the ACMF Voluntary Carbon Market Development Plan and ASEAN VCM Guidance (ACMF VCM Report) was released; setting out recommendations to enhance transparency, integrity and interoperability across ASEAN.
Designed as a multi-year action plan, the report aims to address the role of securities regulators in the region to promoting better financial integrity within the VCM ecosystem, while also recognising interdependence and environmental actions.
Key recommendations include providing clarity on the legal and regulatory treatment of carbon credits, promoting alignment with internationally recognised standards, developing interoperable registries, and enhancing disclosure practices as well as looking at organised trading arrangements.
Importantly, the report functions as a valuable reference point as it adopts a practical and principles-based approach that recognises varying levels of maturity within the ASEAN markets.
The ACMF VCM Report is not a standalone initiative. It is part of the ACMF Action Plan 2026-2030 strategic thrust to build a sustainable and resilient ASEAN. After all, ASEAN is in one of the more climate-vulnerable parts of the world. The aim is to strengthen regional capacity to manage climate, governance and social risks while tapping into sustainable finance opportunities. Such efforts are also in line with the AEC Blueprint 2025, ASEAN Carbon Neutrality Strategy and global standards such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles.
This year, a more focused, implementation-oriented approach is required to move the ACMF VCM Report to something that is real. It includes country-level gap analyses, structured multi-stakeholder engagements and capacity-building programmes to identify priority developmental areas in the short to medium term.
Today’s session therefore marks the first of three structured workshops. We will begin the morning with the upstream supply and generation of carbon credits before moving to the governance, verification, market integrity and trading aspects.
For Malaysia, the ASEAN VCM work provides an important regional foundation that concurrently supports the development of our domestic VCM ecosystem. By advancing common principles, this strengthens regulatory clarity, investor confidence and cross-border participation. The presence of such enabling conditions bodes well for the growth and subsequent maturity of national carbon markets in the region.
In short, we hope the insights today will help each Member State to prioritise the key building blocks needed to scale VCM domestically.

The SC’s ASEAN related work

Ladies and gentlemen,

A key challenge to ASEAN’s future sustainability is driving adoption of various standards at the country level.
For instance, our engagements with corporates, financial institutions, and industry stakeholders have reaffirmed the value of the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance’s science-based thresholds and transition pathways.
At the same time, stakeholders have called for greater implementation support. In response, we are advancing adoption through validation exercises, pilot programmes and targeted workshops to help corporates apply the ASEAN Taxonomy.
Likewise, an ACMF white paper was published on the development of mitigation co-benefit and Adaptation for Resilience (mARs) Guide last year. This also complements the ASEAN Taxonomy work.
For mARs to have continued relevance and stakeholder support, the ACMF will further develop sector-specific use for the Guide this year. This includes refining its treatment of investable adaptation solutions. Such efforts are necessary to provide a structured framework to identify and channel financing towards Member States’ adaptation and resilience projects. In fact, for Malaysia, we envisage using the Guide to assist and complement development of our own National Adaptation Plan.

Closing

To conclude, significant progress is being made in advancing the foundations for a credible, transparent and well-functioning regional carbon market ecosystem. While there is still work to be done, the strong collaboration among Member States, regulators, industry participants and development partners gives us confidence that we are moving in the right direction to unlock the full potential of ASEAN’s VCM in support of our goals.
Let us carry forward the momentum from this workshop as we continue to work together towards enhancing VCM market integrity, transparency and interoperability across ASEAN. I look forward to continued collaboration in the upcoming workshops.
With that, I wish you all a productive and engaging day ahead.

Thank you.

¹Source: ACMF Voluntary Carbon Market Report (November 2025)