Planetary Health Matters: The time for faith in action is now

The Star

14-05-2025

WHEN I heard of Pope Francis' death last month I felt a profound sense of loss. The planetary health movement lost an ally – one of the most prominent voices linking morality with climate action.
Through his legacy in the encyclicals Laudato Si' and Laudato Deum , Pope Francis made clear that the climate crisis is not just a scientific issue; it is deeply social and moral, in no small part fuelled by greed and short-termism. His unflinching stance against fossil fuel interests and calls for radical political action inspired many in the Catholic Church and beyond. His influence reminds us of the impact faith leaders can have as messengers in their communities, often holding more weight than politicians and scientists.
And here we need to ask ourselves a pressing question: Do our faith leaders feel sufficiently empowered to speak out as trusted climate communicators?
In Asean, where faith is deeply embedded in culture and identity, the answer must be that more can and must be done.
Faith communities can be powerful catalysts for values-based climate action – inspiring collective responsibility and working with their congregations to encourage rapid behaviour change. We must foster alliances between planetary health efforts and the influential moral leadership existing within faith groups.
Faith traditions have long held a wisdom that modern economies have missed: that the health of the planet is inseparable from the spiritual health of our souls. Across history, religious teachings have framed environmental stewardship as a moral obligation and sacred duty.
In 2024, the Al-Mizan Covenant for the Earth was launched under the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, widely supported by Muslim scholars. Drawing on Quranic principles, stewardship (khalifah), and balance (mizan) underscore our responsibility as humans to maintain the intricate equilibrium of creation. This links to the core Islamic values that condemn waste, greed, and exploitation.
In Buddhist thought, harming the environment violates the interconnected web of life as beings are linked through non-harm ( ahimsa ) and mindfulness. Tree ordination ceremonies in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia where monks symbolically protect trees, reflect this ethos.
Similarly, Hindu traditions have long emphasised ecological responsibility through concepts like cosmic duty ( dharma ) and reverence for the five elements that make up the universe ( pancha mahabhutas ), reminding us that environmental stewardship is an ancient spiritual mandate.
Malaysia, and Asean more broadly, have a unique opportunity to incorporate diverse spiritual and cultural teachings in climate leadership.
Faith leaders can serve as trusted messengers, shifting the conversation from technical policy to the moral heart of the issue, while bridging political, social, and economic divides. They can mobilise communities, foster resilience and shape a narrative of hope and responsibility in an era of deepening despair.
Faith communities are already beginning to flex their economic influence. A powerful step by Christian dioceses, religious orders, and associations has been divesting from fossil fuels. At the 2023 climate summit, COP28 in Dubai, and again ahead of 2024's COP29 in Baku, faith groups united around ethical finance. In Islamic finance, green sukuk – shariah-compliant investments in renewable energy – illustrate how faith-aligned financial tools can advance the clean transition.
By focusing on the ecological impact of financial decisions, faith leaders can guide individuals to align their investments with environmental values, urging scrutiny of how wealth is deployed, and embedding the principle that protecting creation must inform every economic choice.
Closer to home, the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health and Faith for Our Planet is taking a significant step by launching The Sunway Charter: Faith in Action, conceptualised during the 2024 Planetary Health Summit and 6th Annual Meeting. The charter offers practical guidance for faith communities to integrate and operationalise planetary health principles into teachings and outreach.
A global webinar at the end of this month will launch the charter, gathering global multifaith leaders to share insights, foster partnerships with health and environmental organisations, and deepen interfaith dialogue.
A central feature is a practical, action-oriented toolkit to empower faith leaders to educate their communities, inspire collective action, and counter misinformation with empathy and credibility. Equipping them with the tools to lead this mission is not optional; it is essential for achieving real and lasting change.
Research has shown us the scale of the climate crisis, but science alone will not save us. We must also engage hearts, values, and moral imagination. The charter is an invitation to faith communities to step boldly into climate leadership.
We urge religious leaders, scholars, and congregations to embrace it, use the toolkit, and weave planetary health into teachings and practices so that care for creation becomes not only an environmental duty, but a sacred moral calling.
The time for faith in action is now.
To learn more about the charter go to planetaryhealthalliance.org/sunway-charter-faith-in-action.
Prof Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood, a physician and experienced crisis leader, is the executive director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health at Sunway University. She is the founder of Mercy Malaysia and has served in leadership roles internationally with the United Nations and Red Cross for the last decade. She writes on Planetary Health Matters once a month in Ecowatch . The views expressed here are entirely the writer's own.