This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 18, 2025 - August 24, 2025

Fossil gas is being promoted by both energy leaders and policy frameworks as a “silver bullet” for Malaysia’s energy transition. The National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), which targets a 56% gas share in the energy mix by 2050, states that “natural gas is set to be not only a transitional fuel, but also the primary contributor of the total primary energy sources”.

This rhetoric has been echoed elsewhere. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has emphasised that fossil gas is the “cleanest burning fuel”, while the CEO of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has proclaimed that fossil gas is not a transition fuel, but a destination fuel.

These policy frameworks and statements were made despite global scientific and legal consensus that is overwhelmingly negative on the future role of fossil gas.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which in 2023 concluded that any new increase in fossil fuel capacity is inconsistent with a global 1.5°C pathway, also established that gas is the third most emissions-intensive method of generating energy.

Further, reports from other jurisdictions (referring to a 2023 report published in Environmental Research Letters) have found that the emissions of gas overtake coal’s if gas infrastructure has a leakage rate of 0.2%; such leakage data for Malaysia has not yet been adequately assessed. Building on this, the International Court of Justice recently declared that states that exacerbate the consumption of fossil fuels, or provide approvals or subsidies to fossil fuel projects may be violating international law, posing significant legal risks to Malaysia as a major producer.

While it is commonly believed that Malaysia is not a significant contributor to emissions, this claim is also detached from science. Malaysia’s per capita emissions are nearly twice the global average and rival China’s. Based on historical emissions, Malaysia’s national oil company is the 36th highest CO2-emitting entity in the world, and Malaysia, as a state, has already exceeded its fair share of the planetary boundary for CO2 emissions, according to analysis by the Global Inequality Project.

These are not abstract figures. A RimbaWatch report found that Malaysia’s own plans to increase its production of fossil fuels, primarily gas, will emit 4.15 billion tCO2e. This is equivalent to 3.2% of the remaining global carbon budget, for a country that is home to just 0.4% of the world’s population — an outsized share.

These emissions have real-world implications. An analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air estimates that the methane emissions associated with this 4.15 billion tCO2e could result in 8,234 premature deaths globally over the operational lifetimes of the projects due to ozone exposure. Gas infrastructure is also prone to leaks and soil subsidence, and in the last 10 years alone, there have been three explosions along local gas pipelines — two in Sarawak and the recent Putra Heights inferno.

The levelised cost of electricity generation from renewables in Malaysia is already lower than fossil fuels, and costs are steadily decreasing, according to a report by WWF Malaysia and Boston Consulting Group in 2021. Domestic gas reserves are fast depleting, and Malaysia will be a net liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer by 2030, creating exposure to geopolitical risks that will raise energy costs for consumers.

The just energy transition is not about moving from one fossil fuel to another. It is about supporting a fast and fair phase-out of fossil fuels, forever. Malaysia should learn from other countries that are not relying on fossil gas in their energy transition.

Between 1990 and 2020, Denmark’s energy policies, including initiatives promoting community ownership of local renewable capacity, led the country to increase its share of renewable energy from 3% to more than 80%, transitioning directly from coal to solar and wind.

Further, Malaysia can emulate other Global South producers such as Colombia that have endorsed calls for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty — which will establish a global framework for an equitable energy transition.

Adam Farhan is co-founder and director of RimbaWatch, and Nithiyah Tamilwanan is a consultant at RimbaWatch, an environmental think-tank headquartered in Malaysia that conducts research addressing climate-related issues in Southeast Asia

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