Malaysia stresses global health and climate equity at BRICS summit

New Straits Times

07-07-2025

RIO DE JANEIRO: Malaysia believes that vaccine access, strong public health systems, and the regulation of global medical supply chains are central to both national stability and international security.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stressed that when governments divert limited resources from essential services such as healthcare and clean water to service historical debts, financial systems designed to foster development instead hinder progress.
"Let us begin with a hard truth. In too much of the world, life expectancy remains shaped not by biology, but by income.
"The fact that a child's chance of surviving past the age of five is still largely determined by GDP per capita represents a failure for us all," he said during his intervention at the "Environment, COP30 and Global Health" session of the 17th BRICS Leaders Summit here today.
Malaysia, he said, welcomes the launch of the BRICS Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases.
"It reflects a clear understanding that disease cannot be meaningfully addressed without tackling the conditions that entrench it," said Anwar.
The Prime Minister voiced Malaysia's support for deeper collaboration between BRICS and Asean to strengthen surveillance, accelerate knowledge transfer, and build resilience across borders.
He also reaffirmed Malaysia's commitment to a credible and just low-carbon transition, highlighting the country's pledge to reduce emissions intensity by 45 per cent by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
"These targets are grounded in law and embedded across public policy," he said, noting that Malaysia's approach is anchored in the National Energy Transition Roadmap and supported by efforts to introduce a carbon pricing mechanism and regulatory reforms across key sectors.
Anwar said that Malaysia is also assessing the role of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) in decarbonising industry, with policy frameworks currently being developed.
However, he stressed that policy alone is not enough - transition requires capital.
"At present, international climate finance stands at roughly US$300 billion per year. This is far short of the estimated US$3 trillion required by developing countries alone to meet mitigation and adaptation needs by 2030," he said.
As this year's Asean chair, Anwar said Malaysia is working to strengthen regional coherence on climate action.
He said the nation is focused on improving access to green finance, harmonising standards, and positioning Southeast Asia as a centre for clean energy innovation and sustainable investment.
Ahead of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, this November, Anwar called for a shift "from aspiration to execution".
"Climate justice is ultimately about allocation: of capital, of risk, and of responsibility," he said.
The Prime Minister said Malaysia views health, climate, and finance as inseparable, warning that a degraded environment weakens health systems while an underfunded health system undermines resilience.
"And both suffer when sovereign debt restricts national policy space," he added.
Anwar arrived here on Saturday to attend the 17th BRICS Leaders' Summit hosted by Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.