This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 22, 2025 - December 28, 2025
The Malaysian government is expected to table the National Climate Change Bill (also known as the RUUPIN) in parliament in the coming months, providing a legal framework for climate action and anchoring market-based financing for adaptation and resilience. Malaysia’s global climate pledges, including the goal of cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030, were reaffirmed by the then acting minister of natural resources and environmental sustainability Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani when announcing this timeline.
Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is also a potent greenhouse gas responsible for roughly 30% of global warming, because it traps over 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide in a 20-year period. Methane reduction is fast emerging as a defining front in the global fight against climate change.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is a global non-profit driving practical solutions for a safer climate and a more resilient energy future. For more than a decade, EDF has advanced scientific and economic efforts to highlight how methane mitigation is a rare opportunity to address emissions while benefiting energy supply, economic development, and the climate. About 25% of human-made methane comes from the oil and gas sector; reducing these emissions is an economic and climate relief opportunity.
Momentum is building across Southeast Asia to curb methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The region’s efforts gained structure in 2023 with the launch of the Asean Energy Sector Methane Leadership Program (MLP) in Kuala Lumpur — an initiative backed by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security, now entering its second phase (MLP 2.0). PETRONAS set a regional benchmark at COP28 by becoming the first national oil company in Asean to commit to halving methane emissions by 2025. The following year, Asean energy ministers spotlighted MLP as a model of regional cooperation. By COP29, that collaboration deepened, as leading national oil companies across Asean pledged a joint path forward — to establish a regional methane emissions baseline by 2025 and set measurable reduction targets for 2030, underscoring a collective drive towards a lower emission energy future.
Progress followed by these pledges is evident. PETRONAS has already achieved a 62% methane reduction a year ahead of schedule. PETRONAS, Indonesia’s Pertamina and Thailand’s national oil company PTTEP have joined the UN Environment Programme Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, committing to higher standards of monitoring and transparency. In May 2025, Cambodia became one of the first least-developed countries to submit its National Methane Roadmap, aiming to increase the country’s climate ambition and inform updates to its Nationally Determined Contribution. In June 2025, the Methane Management Roadmap for Oil and Gas in Asean was released by the Asean Centre for Energy (ACE), Asean Council on Petroleum and the World Bank. Most recently, in October 2025, the Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2026-2030 includes action plans to set and promote initiatives to reduce methane emissions in oil and gas activities.
Two new studies by EDF, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak and the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia suggest that cutting methane emissions in the country’s oil and gas industry could deliver not only climate benefits but also strong economic gains.
The first study found that up to 63% of methane emissions from Malaysia’s upstream oil and gas sector could be mitigated at no net cost — largely through measures such as rerouting vented gas to fuel systems and replacing high-emission equipment with zero emission alternatives. Even a 30% reduction could yield net revenues of US$8 million (RM32 million) to US$11 million, offering a clear business case for action. The findings provide Malaysia-specific data to guide investment and technology choices in the Asean region, filling a gap often dominated by US-centric data used by regional energy companies.
The second study highlights methane abatement as a potential job creator. Opportunities are expected to emerge across fields such as remote sensing, drone inspection, measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification. The oil and gas services and equipment sector stands to gain the most, with additional employment growth anticipated across downstream operations — signalling that methane reduction could become both an environmental and economic win for Malaysia.
Methane management stands out as a rare win-win for Malaysia and the broader Asean region — a strategy that strengthens both climate ambition and economic resilience. By embedding methane reduction targets into the forthcoming National Climate Change Bill, Malaysia can turn commitment into leadership, aligning the bill with its Climate Change Policy 2.0 and setting a powerful precedent for neighbours like Thailand, which is also developing climate legislation.
With the Asean Methane Roadmap promising up to US$87 million in additional gas revenue alongside deep emission cuts, the case is clear: tackling methane is not a cost, but an investment in efficiency, innovation and regional energy security. The region can no longer afford to let methane leak away as lost value and rising pollution — it’s time to capture its potential for a cleaner, more competitive future.
Dr Shareen Yawanarajah is senior director of Energy Transition at the Environmental Defense Fund. She leads EDF’s Southeast Asia energy transition strategy and engagement agenda.
This column is part of a series coordinated by Climate Governance Malaysia, the national chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative. The CGI is an effort to support boards of directors in discharging their duty of care as long-term stewards of the companies they oversee, specifically to ensure that climate risks and opportunities are adequately addressed.
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