Speaking at the Sabah Asia-Pacific Impact Investing for Sustainable Development Summit 2026 in Kota Kinabalu, Dr. Ma Jun, Chairman of the China Green Finance Committee, advocated for the Malaysian state of Sabah to convert its agricultural and forestry waste into high-value biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More products. Highlighting Malaysia’s position as a carbon-negative state with abundant organic residues, Dr. Ma emphasized that Sabah should transition toward a circular economy model by manufacturing biochar for export to international markets, including China, rather than relying solely on carbon credit sales or ecotourism.

The state faces the primary challenge of unmonetized natural resources alongside an overreliance on volatile carbon credit markets and traditional revenue streams. Despite holding vast agricultural and timber waste assets—such as tree trunks, leaves, and crop residues—Sabah has struggled to capture the economic potential of its forestry biomassBiomass is a complex biological organic or non-organic solid product derived from living or recently living organism and available naturally. Various types of wastes such as animal manure, waste paper, sludge and many industrial wastes are also treated as biomass because like natural biomass these More. Furthermore, local industries require access to scalable technology and low-cost capital to deploy high-capacity production equipment necessary to meet global industrial decarbonization demands.

To resolve these barriers, Dr. Ma recommended that the Sabah government adopt proven biochar processing technologies manufactured in China to convert local biomass into industrial-grade biochar and specialized fertilizers. To fund the capital expenditure for equipment, he advised tapping into China’s green finance ecosystem by issuing sovereign or sub-sovereign green bonds, such as Green Panda Bonds. This technological and financial framework enables the production of high-calorific biochar suitable for replacing fossil coal in heavy industrial applications, including steelmaking and coal-fired power generation.

The proposed initiative aims to establish a high-revenue export industry in Sabah, generating billions of ringgit from agricultural and forestry residues. By producing higher-value substitutes for coking coal and chemical fertilizers, the state can secure new streams of export income, reduce industrial emissions across regional supply chains, and diversify its sustainable economic portfolio through cross-border green finance.