Many banks treat forests as exploitable resources; so much so that they are behind massive deforestation across Indonesia and Malaysia. By financing companies that cut down forests for profit, the banks are key drivers of forest loss in these two countries, and farther afield. This is according to the US-based…

Despite all the projected gloom and doom, climate change remains an abstract concept for many people, especially in tropical countries like Malaysia. The weather has always been pretty hot so what’s another degree Celsius or two, right? Wrong. Global warming is going to get personal – and not in the…

In a recent ruling the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has stripped Malaysia’s IOI Group, a leading global producer of palm oil, of its green certification. The reason: several of the conglomerate’s subsidiaries were found to have  been engaging in environmentally harmful slash-and-burn destruction of forests and peatlands in Indonesia. In…

Malaysia’s Felda Group, the state-owned commodities company which is one of the world’s largest palm oil plantation operators, has long been positioning itself as a leader in sustainable agribusiness practices. Now, however, the group has asked that Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil Principles and Criteria certificates, which grant a badge of…

The health effects of air pollution have been well documented. Depending on its intensity and the length of your exposure to it, air pollution can trigger or exacerbate cardiovascular diseases, respiratory illnesses, metabolic malfunctions and a variety of other ailments. All this we’ve long known. Here’s something you may not…

If you think the current heat wave has made the temperature barely bearable outdoors, wait until global warming really starts turning up the thermostat. Average temperatures in Malaysia may rise by up to 3.1 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. That’s a terrifying prospect, yes, but even a…

First came the accusations, now comes the rebuttal. The accusations: In an op-ed published recently in The Borneo Post, BLD Plantation Bhd, which has come in for flak from Malaysian environmentalists for clearing large tracts of peatland for oil palm plantations near Sibu in Sarawak, lashed out at some of those…

Shopping malls are notorious worldwide for generating large amounts of waste, but if Kota Kinabalu’s mayor Yeo Boon Hai has his way, those in Sabah’s capital will become more environmentally friendly. The mayor has called on local shopping complexes to go greener by recycling more and adopting Effective Micro-organism Activated Solution…

Here is a bit of a conundrum: Biodiesel is a far cleaner alternative than traditional fossil fuels, and Malaysia is working on boosting its biodiesel output. So that’s good news, right? Not so fast. The problem is that much of that biodiesel will come from palm oil obtained from plantations…

The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) may well be good for Malaysia’s economy, but it will do little to protect the country’s environment. So says a new study published by the research institute Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). In the study, “Bait-and-Switch: The Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Promised Environmental Protections Do Not…

We have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will lead to an elimination of tariffs for about 85% of rubber products from Malaysia, while tariffs on other rubber products will be phased out within 16 years from 2018, when…

When it comes to sustainable building practices, Malaysia hasn’t exactly been a world-leader. Less than 2% of buildings in the country has been rated with a sustainability tool, and many local construction businesses have yet to adopt more environmentally friendly practices of the kind that are already common in neighboring…

Oil palm plantations are – wait for it – great microcosms of biodiversity. If, that is, we are to believe Pierre Bois d’Enghien, an agronomist and environmental expert. Writing in an op-ed in The Star newspaper and citing several studies from around the world, Bois d’Enghien lays out his case….

Let’s be honest: Few of us, save for insect enthusiasts, spend much time fretting about bees or moths or wasps or beetles – except when they set their sight on our lunchboxes. We definitely ought to care about them a whole lot more, however. That’s because a myriad of insects,…

A useful insight for successful environmental policies is this: If you want people to act responsibly, incentivize responsible behavior. And so the Malaysian government’s new carbon tax incentives for local companies are a welcome development. Under a new government scheme, which is supported by the Finance Ministry, companies that voluntarily…

A proposed hydroelectric dam on the Baram River in the state of Sarawak has been on and off so local environmental activists might rightfully be concerned about its current status. Last July the state’s Chief Minister Adenan Satem announced that the project had been put on hold, pending consultation with…