Kuala lumpur: Scientific and financial resources must be urgently directed towards understanding and addressing the effects of climate change, as extreme weather events are no longer rare but recurring and intensifying, said the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, His Royal Highness noted that the Planetary Boundaries Framework, developed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, identifies nine critical biophysical systems that together regulate the Earth’s stability. These include climate, biodiversity, land use, freshwater, and the flow of nutrients through soils and oceans. Crossing even one of these boundaries poses irreversible risks of cascading change. However, just last month, Potsdam confirmed that seven have been breached, the latest being ocean acidification. This indicates that humanity has already moved beyond the safe space for long-term resilience.
Sultan Nazrin emphasized that the task is not simply to tackle climate change but to bring entire economies back within these boundaries in all nine areas. He highlighted that countries worldwide are investing billions into renewable energy, including solar and wind farms, hydropower, and hydrogen. Businesses are also reducing their emissions through energy efficiency, greener buildings, and electric vehicle fleets.
He acknowledged that carbon markets are emerging as powerful mechanisms to fund emission reduction, protect ecosystems, and empower communities. From renewable energy projects to nature-based solutions, these markets provide pathways for lower-carbon growth. However, their success depends on credibility and transparency. Sultan Nazrin commended the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum for developing a region-wide Voluntary Carbon Market Development Plan, an essential step towards a trustworthy regional framework for decarbonization.
Sultan Nazrin also praised ASEAN regulators for their work on the Mitigation Cobenefit and the Adaptation for Resilience Guide, which strengthens the ASEAN Framework and provides practical pathways for financing resilience. Meanwhile, he urged Malaysia to assert a greater sense of moral accountability in defining prosperity, stating that profit has been pursued without regard for environmental and social consequences for too long. He emphasized that placing human dignity and empathy at the heart of finance and protecting the well-being of future generations are central to the aspirations and principles embodied in the Securities Commission’s 2023 Maqasid Al-Shariah Guidance for the Islamic Capital Market Malaysia.
The SC’s guidance provides an ethical compass for aligning financial systems with principles of planetary health. Sultan Nazrin noted that Malaysia has now charted its path forward through the National Planetary Health Action Plan, a national framework translating the science of planetary health and planetary boundaries into practical governance and economic action.
The action plan provides a roadmap for business, government, and society to work together to realign growth with the Earth’s limits. It signals a deeper shift, challenging how success is measured, advocating for a return on values approach that considers social, environmental, and moral good alongside financial profit.
Sultan Nazrin concluded by stating that the action plan offers businesses a national framework to redefine value, directing capital towards ecosystem restoration, sustainable food systems, circular production, and resilient supply chains. These strategic investments aim for long-term planetary stability and enduring prosperity, urging the unification of science with values, capital with conscience, and progress with compassion.