Name: Dr Wei-nee Chen
Job title: Head of Carbon Market
Organisation: Bursa Malaysia
1. Brief description of nominee’s role and job.
Dr Wei-nee Chen is Head of Carbon Market at Bursa Malaysia. She joined the exchange in August 2022 following the Malaysian Government’s mandate for Bursa Malaysia to establish and operate the country’s voluntary carbon market, with the long-term aspiration of developing a domestic emissions trading system (ETS).
Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX) was launched on 9 December 2022 and is recognised by ICAP as the world’s first Shariah-compliant carbon exchange.
Dr Wei-nee’s role spans three strategic pillars:
Developing new environmental products and services, strengthening liquidity and expanding market participation and commercial activity for BCX
Building Malaysia’s carbon market ecosystem, including talent development and scaling high-quality domestic carbon projects
Providing policy input and thought leadership on carbon-pricing instruments, including carbon tax, domestic ETS design, Article 6.2 implementation, NDC alignment and CORSIA, with a focus on Malaysia and ASEAN
She operates at the intersection of market development, policy design and ecosystem building.
2. Short bio (career highlights, education, interests/hobbies).
Dr Wei-nee Chen holds:
A Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Canterbury
An MBA from Universiti Tun Abdul Razak
A Doctor of Business Administration from the National University of Malaysia (UKM), with a doctoral thesis on Personal Branding of Women in Top Management Positions
She began her career in the IT industry in New Zealand, where she spent more than a decade before transitioning to the energy sector in pursuit of work aligned with climate action and sustainability.
Her career in energy and climate includes:
Technical Advisor on a UNDP sustainable energy project (2005–2011)
Chief Strategic Officer at Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) (2011–2020)
Vice-President, New Energy Ventures at Hibiscus Petroleum (2020–2022)
She joined Bursa Malaysia in 2022 to lead the national carbon market.
Dr Wei-nee serves on multiple advisory and technical bodies, including:
Industry Advisory Panels for Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation, MPSEA, UKM-GSB and Sunway University
Deputy Secretary, Malaysia Carbon Market Association
National CORSIA Taskforce
Technical Working Groups for the World Bank’s PMI-CPI and Malaysia’s National Policy on Carbon Market (DPKK)
Outside work, she enjoys walking in nature and is unapologetically fond of desserts – especially durian.
3. What were your professional highlights and challenges of 2025?
By 2025, BCX evolved into a multi-environmental product exchange operating both voluntary carbon credits and renewable energy certificates (RECs), aligned with Bursa Malaysia’s multi-asset strategy.
Product Expansion and Innovation BCX conducted five auctions within three years – three for carbon credits and two for RECs. In 2025, BCX introduced Auction-as-a-Service (AaaS), enabling project developers to efficiently identify off-takers for environmental products, including renewable electricity and unbundled RECs. The expansion into renewable energy markets leveraged Dr Wei-nee’s deep energy sector experience.
Malaysia Carbon Market Forum (MCMF) 2025 The 3rd Malaysia Carbon Market Forum hosted more than 600 participants and convened high-level speakers from UNFCCC, ICVCM, IETA, multiple governments, multilateral development banks and global carbon standards. The forum included three strategic roundtables, reinforcing Malaysia’s regional and international positioning.
Strategic Partnerships In 2025, BCX signed four memoranda of collaboration, including partnerships with UEM Lestra, Sarawak’s Natural Resources and Environment Board, Malaysia Forest Fund and Sarawak Energy. These partnerships strengthened renewable energy market integration, registry design and forest carbon instruments.
ASEAN Common Carbon Framework (ACCF) As Malaysia assumed the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Dr Wei-nee played a central role in conceptualising the ASEAN Common Carbon Framework. The ACCF aims to:
Increase carbon-credit supply through mutual recognition of methodologies
Improve interoperability across ASEAN carbon markets
Strengthen regional credibility and scale
The initiative, formalised at COP29 in Baku and celebrated at COP30 in Belém, received recognition in ASEAN ministerial statements and capital market guidance documents.
International Recognition Dr Wei-nee was invited by B3 (Brazil’s stock exchange) to represent Bursa Malaysia at its Ring-the-Bell ceremony during COP30 – a symbolic recognition of BCX’s global engagement.
A core leadership challenge throughout 2025 was scaling infrastructure and ecosystem capacity while ensuring regulatory robustness and international credibility in a rapidly evolving global carbon market.
4. Tell us about a few of your key achievements throughout your career?
Energy Policy and Market Reform Dr Wei-nee contributed to drafting the Renewable Energy and SEDA Bills, passed in Parliament in 2011. At SEDA, she pioneered Malaysia’s pilot peer-to-peer energy trading programme and introduced the REC market framework.
At Hibiscus Petroleum, she developed the company’s Climate Change Framework, embedding transition strategy within an oil and gas business.
In January 2025, she was recognised among 25 pioneering Malaysian women in energy for her contributions to the sector.
Carbon Market Development She played a key role in establishing the Malaysia Carbon Market Association and has extended her energy transition experience into structured carbon market development. The ACCF has since been referenced in ASEAN ministerial statements and regional capital markets guidance.
Her work reflects a consistent trajectory: building institutional frameworks that enable market-based climate solutions.
5. What and who inspires, and has inspired, you to achieve your professional success?
Dr Wei-nee cites her two daughters, Esta and Tina, as her greatest inspiration.
Their future reinforces her commitment to advancing sustainable finance and climate solutions that deliver long-term societal value.
6. How have you overcome setbacks, and what advice would you give to others dealing with setbacks?
Dr Wei-nee approaches setbacks through gratitude and perspective. She views challenges as catalysts for growth rather than obstacles.
As she reflected in Malaysia Women in Energy 2025: “Each challenge represents an opportunity to grow, and each success is a stepping stone for the next endeavour.”
Her philosophy is grounded in purpose: long-term climate impact outweighs short-term difficulty.
7. What advice do you have for other women who aspire to be in leadership positions? What is the biggest takeaway you want to leave with the reader?
Her message to aspiring women leaders is clear:
Embrace your passion
Stay curious
Accept that the path may not always be linear
Commit fully to the impact you wish to create
Leadership is not defined by predictability but by conviction and resilience. When women lead with purpose, they expand possibilities not only for themselves but for future generations.