While floods and storm surges have far reaching effects on the economy of Malaysia, causing economic losses of over USD 1.3 billion annually as recorded by the World Bank and environment impacting approximately 10.1% of land area annually, the local communities—particularly marginalized groups such as women, children, youth, people with disabilities, rural communities, low-income urban communities, and Indigenous population—are the most disproportionately affected.
To prepare for current and future climate scenarios outlined in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that point to an increased frequency of extreme weather events, including more intense rainfall in Southeast Asia by the mid-21st century, countries in the region need to ramp up efforts to build the resilience of their communities and economies to climate shifts and shocks.
Recognizing the urgency to strengthen national responses to Malaysia’s unique climate change vulnerabilities and risks, leaving no one behind, the country is developing its first inclusive NAP, also know as Malaysia National Adaptation Plan (MyNAP), which is built upon key strategic pillars, aimed at enhancing Malaysia’s institutional, technical and financial capacities for developing, implementing and monitoring its approaches. It also sets out key principles for advancing country’s NAP process.
This article outlines how Malaysia is marking a major milestone in its NAP process around key pillars and principles—from strengthening governance and data systems to unlocking private investment and scaling adaptation finance.
Initiating the NAP process
Under the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, five climate-sensitive sectors—water and coastal resources, agriculture and food security, infrastructure and cities (including energy), forestry and biodiversity and public health—have been identified as a priority for the MyNAP, which require targeted adaptation measures to address vulnerabilities effectively.
The MyNAP, anticipated to take effect by the end of 2026, will offer a coherent national framework on adaptation planning and action to enable long-term transformational shifts that build climate resilience into national and sectoral development planning.
What Makes a Successful NAP?
Moreover, Malaysia has developed a MyNAP Framework, which sets out a series of key principles for the country’s NAP process, including
- integrating cross-cutting themes, such as gender-responsive measures, climate finance and private sector investment;
- addressing intersectional vulnerabilities by recognizing that unique vulnerabilities are shaped by intersecting factors such as gender, age, socio-economic status, background and ethnicity;
- supporting women-led and youth-led initiatives and enterprises, alongside targeted capacity building, climate-resilient livelihoods and microfinance models in climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, fisheries and coastal resources;
- implementing an integrated monitoring, evaluation and learning system to ensure the effectiveness of adaptation measures by tracking progress, evaluating outcomes, and fostering continuous learning and improvement; and
- engaging with private sector and civil society organizations, for comprehensive and inclusive consultations to ensure that the process is not only evidence-based, but reflective of the diverse needs and priorities of Malaysia’s stakeholders.
Four strategic thrusts are central to a successful development of the MyNAP
- establish governance for coordinated climate adaptation action;
- build data systems and monitoring for informed planning;
- enable risk-based decisions and incentivize private investments; and
- secure, scalable and sustainable funding for adaptation.
More than just a policy document and a mere fulfilment of Malaysia’s obligations to the UNFCCC, the MyNAP is key to developing strategies and incentives to foster private investment in adaptation solutions, establishing mechanisms to highlight adaptation priorities, and developing national systems to track adaptation finance flows.
According to Malaysia’s Fourth National Communications to the UNFCCC, a preliminary estimate of USD 63.6 million is required for various adaptation initiatives to strengthen resilience measures throughout the country. This is a fairly conservative figure compared to the median cost for NAP implementation derived from the NAP Global Network’s assessment of submitted NAPs – an estimate of US$ 2 billion.
It is clear that strong policy signals and enabling regulations are needed, alongside robust data systems and shared information platforms, supported by innovative financing mechanisms. Multi-stakeholder collaboration between the public, private and financial sectors is essential to unlock financing opportunities for adaptation-aligned investments.
There is no more room for adaptation to take the back seat in Malaysia’s climate agenda. While the country has undertaken significant efforts in adaptation—including the Penang Nature-Based Climate Adaptation Programme and the development of a multi-hazard platform for forecasting local-level climate extremes and physical hazards for Iskandar Malaysia—notable challenges are recognized, such as limited capacity leading to coordination and governance challenges, insufficient private sector engagement and inadequate adaptation financing.
In a country where disasters like floods are no longer seasonal but increasingly erratic and unpredictable, adaptation must be centred on resilience, with preparedness embedded in federal, state and local policies and planning to ensure that daily life, livelihoods and sources of income remain safe and undisrupted.
This article is adapted from a longer piece by Jasmin Irisha Jim Ilham, originally published as “What’s Next on the Climate Adaptation Horizon for Malaysia” in Perspective + Outlook 2026 — Shifting Sands (special issue), The Edge Malaysia, 2026.
Related content
- Malaysia’s Third Iteration of the Nationally Determined Contribution (2025)
- Toolkit for a Gender-Responsive Process to Formulate and Implement NAPs