Joint Statement by Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia: Updates from the 16th Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) Meeting

JC3 noted the successful delivery of initiatives in 2025 including those under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship. Building on this momentum, JC3 will continue to focus its efforts on strengthening the ecosystem for climate and sustainable finance. This includes the development of the Malaysia Taxonomy as a consistent and unified national classification framework for sustainable finance, which will align to the ASEAN Taxonomy. A Call for Feedback on the Malaysia Taxonomy’s design and scope will be issued at the end of February to gather views on adoption and implementation considerations.

Members discussed the progress of the JC3 Climate Finance Innovation Lab (CFIL). As at January 2026, CFIL has onboarded 30 projects, with total funding needs exceeding RM4 billion. Since its inception, CFIL has rolled out several initiatives, including the Accelerator Programme and the Capital Solutioning Lab. In the period ahead, CFIL will focus on the solutioning aspects including project readiness and viability support, and strengthening public-private-philanthropic partnerships.

Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia and Co-Chair of JC3, Madelena Mohamed said, ‘CFIL underscores the importance of diverse capital providers coming together to design innovative funding structures for novel and higher-risk climate-related projects that may not yet meet traditional risk-return metrics. Without such collaboration to help smoothen private, public and philanthropic partnerships, projects that are vital to national sustainability goals will remain underfunded. Bridging this gap also requires a longer-term approach to risk and return.’

Chief Sustainability Officer of Securities Commission Malaysia and Co-Chair of JC3, Neetasha Rauf said, ‘Promoting viable opportunities to finance climate adaptation and strengthen resilience against climate risks remains a key priority for JC3. The Malaysia Taxonomy, which will be science-based and aligned with the ASEAN Taxonomy, will be an important tool to guide capital towards activities that catalyse the transition of activities in the real economy towards more sustainable footing. Industry players can also refer to the ACMF mARs Guide[1] to facilitate identification of investable climate adaptation activities and technologies, thereby enhancing project bankability under CFIL.’

Development of the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF) for Financial Institutions Guidance has commenced. The Guidance aims to facilitate the adoption of the NSRF in line with the International Sustainability Standard Board (ISSB)[2] requirements. This initiative builds on the Illustrative Sustainability Reports for the plantation and construction sectors issued last year by the Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting (ACSR), which provide companies with illustrative references when applying the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1[3] and IFRS S2[4] requirements in their sustainability disclosures.

Members also discussed emerging strategic priorities to strengthen the financial sector’s climate resilience. This included exploring risk-sharing mechanisms for climate transition and adaptation projects, identifying policy levers to support climate finance, and developing finance solutions to support carbon credit project development. Members further highlighted the importance of integrating nature-related financial risks into existing regulations and new initiatives, alongside further improving accessibility to climate-and nature-related data.

Reaffirming its commitment to support Malaysia’s climate goals, JC3 will host its biennial Journey to Zero Regional Conference (JC3 J20) on 28 and 29 September 2026 at Sasana Kijang. The conference will focus on bold and concrete steps to accelerate actions in climate and nature finance. It will also serve as a platform for knowledge exchange and cross-sector collaboration. Further details on JC3 J20 will be announced in due course.

Bank Negara Malaysia Securities Commission Malaysia

6 February 2026

About the JC3

The JC3 is a platform established in September 2019 to pursue collaborative actions for building climate resilience within the Malaysian financial sector. The JC3 is co-chaired by Madelena Mohamed, Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia and Neetasha Rauf, Chief Sustainability Officer of Securities Commission Malaysia, with members comprising senior officials from Bursa Malaysia and 25 financial industry players. The JC3’s initiatives and priorities are undertaken by its five sub-committees, namely Risk Management; Governance and Disclosure; Product and Innovation; Engagement and Capacity Building; and Bridging Data Gaps. An SME Focus Group has been established to develop strategies and solutions that support transition by SMEs.

Members: AHAM Asset Management Berhad, Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad, AmBank (M) Berhad, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad, Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad (Agrobank), BNP Paribas Asset Management Sdn. Bhd., Bursa Malaysia Berhad, CIMB Bank, Etiqa General Insurance Berhad, Franklin Templeton GSC Asset Management Sdn Bhd, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, Kenanga Investors Berhad, Maybank Berhad, Mizuho Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, MSIG Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, Principal Asset Management Berhad, Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad, RHB Bank Berhad, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, Swiss Re Asia Pte. Ltd. (Swiss Retakaful), Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Am Berhad, United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, UOB Asset Management (Malaysia) Berhad and Zurich General Insurance Malaysia Berhad.

For more information about JC3, visit www.jc3malaysia.com.

[1] Refers to the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) Phase 1 White Paper for the Development of the Mitigation Co-benefit and Adaptation for Resilience (mARs) Guide

[2] The ISSB Standards establish a high-quality global baseline of investor-focused sustainability-related disclosures.

[3]  IFRS S1 requires companies to disclose sustainability‑related risks and opportunities that could affect their financial prospects. IFRS - IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information.

[4] IFRS S2 requires companies to disclose climate‑related risks and opportunities that could affect their financial prospects. IFRS - IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures.