KUALA LUMPUR (June 7): The government is drafting the National Carbon Policy, among others, to provide guidance on carbon trading at the state level, said Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

"Many states such as Sarawak, Sabah, Perak, Pahang and Selangor are exploring (carbon trading) because carbon is also seen as a state resource. We want to coordinate at the national level so that we will get the results that we want,” he told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (June 7).

He was replying to a question from Datuk Indera Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar).

Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi said the government was also updating and improving the National Action Plan for Peatlands to take into account the Asean Peatland Management Strategy (APMS), which is in the process of being completed.

APMS is being developed to guide the country to sustainably manage peatlands and coordinate the various agencies involved in it.

He said 8% of the country's land area, namely in Johor, Pahang, Selangor, Perak, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak, is made up of peatland.

"A total of 714,156 hectares of peatland have been recorded by the Department of Agriculture while the total area of peatland used for agriculture is 342,329 hectares with 304,212 hectares used for commodities and another 38,117 hectares for food crops," he said.

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