KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has established its Climate Change Action Council to among others, discuss climate change policies, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The council, under the purview of the Sabah Forestry Department, is also set up to drive green economic growth, catalyse green technology and low-carbon growth.
He said the commitment is in line with the Sabah State Policy on the environment as well as the national aspiration, especially in climate mitigation and adaptation processes.
"Climate change is one of the key aspects covered in the policy and we are committed to take all steps necessary to ensure Sabah's air quality will not degrade as a result of development activities.
"As part of our commitment to reduce the impact of climate change, the state has targeted to plant about 36 million trees as part of the nationwide Greening Malaysia Programme themed "Greening Malaysia: Our Trees, Our Life" which will last for five years until 2025," he said, adding so far nearly 4.5 million trees have already been planted throughout the state.
Hajiji was speaking at the opening of the Sabah Climate Change International Conference 2021.
The two-day hybrid conference is jointly-organised by the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, Sabah Environmental Protection Department, Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) together with Petronas as the main sponsor.
"I hope this conference will also enhance cooperation among a broad base of stakeholder groups to promote public participation in both the climate change and conservation agendas.
"No less important is my wish to see more youth participation so they too can raise their voices on climate change actions," he said.
Present were Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Jafry Arifin; State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong; Chief, Government & Regulator Advisory for Petronas, Anuar Ismail; SEARRP director Datuk Dr Glen Reynolds; and Technical Adviser to the Chief Minister on Matters Related to Climate Change Datuk Darrel Webber.