Malaysians are breathing highly polluted air. For the past decade, Malaysia’s annual average PM10 concentrations have been consistently well above the World Health Organisation’s guideline. Much of the pollution we breathe in is linked to key GHG gas emissions: methane and co-emitted pollutants from oil and gas (O&G) operations contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and particle pollution, and GHG emissions from fire and haze pollution are usually linked to land-use change for agribusiness sectors like palm oil. Malaysia has signed the Global Methane Pledge at the 26th Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Both pledges relate to crucial emissions sectors in Malaysia: Petronas, Malaysia’s national O&G company, is the third-largest national oil company in the world by total assets, while Malaysia is anticipating another 0.3 million hectares of land-use change for palm oil plantations before it reaches its declared cap of 6.5 million hectares.

According to Malaysia’s most recent UNFCCC emissions inventory, fugitive emissions from the O&G sector are the highest contributor to methane emissions (However, the Global Methane Pledge commits to action between 2020 and 2030, and it is therefore extremely important that the government implements this pledge.

Yet, it remains unclear how Malaysia’s climate change policies and commitments at both the national and regional levels will support government and corporate methane action to achieve the globally pledged 30% reduction by 2030. At the same time, there is low awareness among the Malaysian public on the link between methane, air pollution, health, and climate change, leading to apathy and limiting policy ambition. Greater public concern for air pollution, and steps to reduce it, should lead to reducing all GHGs as the public could be motivated by the local co-benefits of improved air quality and health.