LEADERS must act now to address the environmental crisis rather than wait for full consensus, as delays could leave future generations bearing the consequences of decisions made today, Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah said.
His Royal Highness said governments and other stakeholders must be willing to accept short-term costs for long-term benefits and build alliances that would endure beyond political and institutional mandates.
“This requires leadership that is prepared to act before consensus is fully achieved, bear short-term costs for long-term benefits and build alliances that can endure beyond the tenure of any mandate,” he said when opening the Global Tipping Points Conference 2026 in Kuala Lumpur today.
Sultan Nazrin said effective responses to planetary risks required an honest assessment of existing obstacles, greater attention to communities already affected by environmental changes and cooperation across science, finance, law, religion and other sectors.
The Perak Ruler said Asia was not merely vulnerable to environmental threats but was also positioned to lead solutions through urban initiatives, clean energy transitions and longstanding traditions of protecting shared natural resources.
“We are not a region waiting to be saved. Rather, we are a region where the work of saving is already under way, although unevenly and incompletely.”
He cited shifting monsoon patterns, rising sea temperatures and recurring heatwaves as developments already affecting farmers in the Mekong Delta, fishing communities in the Coral Triangle and outdoor workers in urban areas.
The ruler urged participants to listen to those experiencing these effects directly, particularly farmers, fishing communities and young people who would inherit the consequences of current decisions.
Pointing to conservation efforts at Royal Belum in Perak, Sultan Nazrin said active snares used by poachers had fallen by more than 90 per cent, with none recorded since 2022. Camera traps had also captured a tigress with four cubs and, more recently, another tigress with two cubs.
“This is what conservation looks like after the speeches are over: intergenerational, incremental and measured not through declarations but through the number of tiger cubs born and snares removed,” he said.
Sultan Nazrin also warned that the rapid rise of artificial intelligence was creating a “hybrid tipping zone”, in which technological decisions would shape human capabilities, social cohesion, prosperity and the planet’s health.
He called for sustained investment in human capabilities through “dual literacy” — combining an understanding of human values and judgement with the ability to use technologies that increasingly influence everyday decisions.
He said people must continue to contribute meaning, values, imagination and wisdom, while technology could strengthen their capacity to analyse, explore and act.
The ruler said the declaration emerging from the four-day conference should identify agreements reached in Kuala Lumpur, set out work to be continued at next year’s meeting in Potsdam and provide direction for regional action.
Sultan Nazrin stressed that the time required for environmental recovery made immediate action more pressing, rather than providing a reason to postpone difficult decisions.
“The positive changes we make today may take decades to show results. This is absolutely no reason to delay those changes, but rather the strongest reason for us to act now,” he added.
The conference, which runs until Oct 15, is the first in the series to be held in Asia. It brings together scientists, policymakers, financiers, religious leaders and civil society representatives to examine how positive tipping points can accelerate environmental and social change. - October 12, 2026