KOTA KINABALU, April 28 -- Sabah has been officially confirmed as a "carbon-negative" state, meaning it absorbs more carbon than it emits, a finding that could position it to benefit from growing global carbon credit and climate financing markets.

Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Ceasar Mandela Malakun said the status was established through recent state-led studies under the Sabah Climate Change Action Council - a climate risk vulnerability assessment and the Sabah Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report 2024 - the first subnational assessment of its kind in Malaysia.

The studies mark a major milestone in the state's climate and economic planning.

"These efforts have, for the first time, provided the state government with a comp...