Carbon is currency and sustainability is a moral duty, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
According to a report by The Star, he was quoted as saying that Malaysians must realise that tropical crops are key to the country’s climate future.
The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister said this in his opening speech at the Tropical Crops Carbon Credit Forum 2025 on Monday (Nov 24).
“Increasing droughts, shifting rainfall, soil degradation and volatile markets are not abstract issues,” he said.
“As climate accountability reshapes economies worldwide, Malaysia stands ready to do the impossible. We are ready to turn nature into a national asset and tropical crops into climate champions,” he said.
“We will turn carbon management into shared prosperity. Our tropical crops hold the key to Malaysia’s climate future,” he added.
Fadillah added that Malaysia’s palm oil, rubber, rice, bamboo and forest landscapes are not merely economic commodities.
“They are living carbon sinks that can capture emissions, restore soils and rejuvenate ecosystems. If managed sustainably, they can make Malaysia a global leader in the tropical carbon economy,” he said.
Fadillah said this includes leadership in climate resilience, green innovation and ethical stewardship and added that sustainability must be inclusive.
“It must uplift farmers, empower communities and ensure nature based solutions also become prosperity based solutions,” said Fadillah.
“Malaysia’s story began with the soil. From rice fields that fed our ancestors to forests that shaped our heritage, agriculture is our identity. Millions of farmers, smallholders and rural families built Malaysia’s early economy,” he added.
He said they now stand on the frontline of a climate crisis shaping a new chapter, adding the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry’s National Carbon Market Policy targets net zero emissions by 2050.
