Brunei is seeking to reduce emissions by increasing the number of electric vehicles on its roads and reducing industrial emissions. Photo credit: iStock/marcusbrown
Brunei Darussalam now requires facilities emitting greenhouse gases to submit quarterly and annual emission reports as part of the country’s commitment to decarbonize.
The Brunei Darussalam National Council on Climate Change (BNCCC) issued a directive making reporting mandatory in April. “The directive serves as a clear demonstration of the government’s dedication to transparency and accountability, in addition to enabling Brunei Darussalam to achieve its national and international obligations,” according to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The mandatory reporting starts this year.
Tracking progress
“The directive serves as an important first step on the path to track progress toward our national pledges and commitments on reducing GHG [greenhouse gases] emissions, through accurate and reliable data,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“It is crucial to have accurate baseline data, given the country’s legally binding commitments [under the Paris Agreement],” Ahmad Zaiemaddien Pehin Dato Hj Halbi, the head of Brunei’s Climate Change Secretariat, said in a media report.
According to the council, requiring companies to submit emissions reports is key to keeping a transparent and reliable carbon inventory, which requires a measuring, reporting, and verification system.
A centralized online reporting platform is being developed to standardize data reporting and provide a user-friendly overview of greenhouse gases data.
In 2022, an independent team conducted a quality assurance exercise to strengthen the quality and transparency of the country's carbon inventory.
Brunei is obligated to submit reports about its GHG inventories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These reports, to be submitted every 2 and 4 years, ensure compliance with established standards. Although not mandatory, Brunei conducts third-party verifications for its national GHG inventories prior to submission.
According to Brunei’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) detailing the country's strategies to meet the Paris Agreement targets, the sultanate has a relatively small contribution to the global GHG emissions at around 0.025% in 2018.
Net-zero strategies
The move to make emissions reporting mandatory is one of the major strategies Brunei is adopting to meet its NDC. It also committed to the following:
- Reduce overall emissions in the industrial sector, specifically ending routing gas flaring by the oil and gas industry. Brunei has committed to reduce industrial emissions in general by 2035. The oil and gas industry is the main contributor to the country’s economy, accounting for 49.6% share of gross domestic product as of 2021.
- Increase carbon sink through afforestation and reforestation. The country targets to plant 500,000 new trees under the scheme. Brunei is part of the Heart of Borneo, one of the most diverse and complex ecosystems in the world. Under its NDC, the sultanate aims to increase its forest reserves to 55% from 41%.
- Increase total share of electric vehicles (EV) to 60% of the total annual vehicle sales by 2035. Land transportation currently contributes about 13.6% of the total GHG emissions from the energy sector. In 2020, there are over 253,000 active private vehicles in the country. EVs are a viable transportation option in the sultanate since commuters usually drive short distances.
- Increase total share of renewable energy to at least 30% of total capacity in the power generation mix by 2035. Currently, the only renewable energy source comes from a 1.2-megawatt solar power plant in Seria, Belait District, accounting for about 0.14% of the total power generation mix.
- Reduce GHG emissions by at least 10% by 2035 by curbing energy consumption. This entails increasing the efficiency in power generation, improving transmission and distribution losses, implementing minimum efficiency of 48% for all new power plants, and reducing gas consumption by integrating renewable power in the energy mix.
- Impose price on carbon emissions from the industrial sector. Imposing such a scheme is seen to deter excess GHG emissions.
- Reduce waste going to landfills to 1 kilo per person per day by 2035. This entails the adoption of best practices and innovative technologies.