The report calls for a new policy consensus based on equity, economic security for all, and solidarity. It emphasizes the need for structural transformations in policy, institutions, norms, and mind-sets, and a fundamental reorientation of policymaking through a social lens. A new consensus must prioritize strong social policies, investments in public institutions, and a people-centred approach to development, moving beyond the current over-reliance on markets.
Halal ESG shaped by Tawhidic epistemology is not merely an alternative model; it is a civilizational intervention—calling for harmony between the sacred and the temporal, between environmental responsibility and metaphysical awareness, between economic development and divine accountability. It is this synthesis—rooted in Tawhid, driven by Ummatic consciousness, and aspiring toward Ummatic excellence—that will enable halal industries to become ethical vanguards in a fractured world.
The United Nations Environment Program is mandated to keep the environment under review, which means monitoring environmental changes and issues that may impact our shores. The Frontiers report is a key component of this effort, uniting scientists and specialists from around the world to explore critical emerging environmental issues and recommend policies and courses of action. The 2025 edition of this report addresses four issues that need greater attention from policymakers.
The global momentum behind sustainable development has elevated ESG principles to a central position in both corporate and public sector strategies. The Global Sustainable Investment Review (2020) reports that assets managed under sustainable investment strategies reached USD 35.3 trillion, representing over one-third of total professionally managed assets worldwide. Despite this impressive shift, the practical implementation of ESG is beset by challenges, with the agricultural sector particularly affected due to its central role in food security, economic development, and environmental stewardship. Conflicts over land rights, water resources, environmental impacts, and social inequalities are common and often impede progress toward sustainability and inclusivity.
Sustainable development in an Islamic economy is unattainable without the integration of ethics. To stay relevant, it is essential to broaden the interpretation of Shariah compliance beyond mere legal requirements, incorporating maqasid and qawaid to foster positive social and environmental outcomes. Islamic economics and finance are designed to benefit all humanity, not just Muslims, and achieving “Rahmatil alamin” (mercy to all) requires ethics to be deeply embedded in the economy. However, this can only be realized by transforming the mind-set of economic agents from “homo Islamic-legalus” to “homo Islamic-ethicus,” who prioritize ethical decision-making.
Mainstream economic policies often prioritize short-term goals, such as inflation control and GDP growth, over addressing the root causes of unemployment. This short-sighted approach can lead to unemployment persistence, even during periods of apparent economic growth. By contrast, behavioural economics urges policymakers to adopt long-term and holistic strategies that prioritize social welfare and sustainable job creation, offering a more nuanced and comprehensive perspective on addressing unemployment.
The omission of the family from ESG frameworks is not a minor oversight—it is symptomatic of a deeper malaise within secular ethics and governance. As Professor Nejatullah Siddiqi once noted, “The preservation of family is not a cultural preference—it is a civilizational necessity.” The Mf-ESG model, with its Tawhidic, Maqasidic, and civilizational foundations, offers a corrective to the ESG paradigm’s moral myopia. It presents a model of sustainability not limited to compliance and metrics but inspired by meaning, purpose, and transcendence.
This model deserves further exploration and institutional support through high-level scholarly forums, international think tanks, policy summits, and academic curricula. It bridges theory and practice, faith and governance, offering not only a critique but a constructive framework for a just and flourishing civilization.
This year’s Human Development report examines what distinguishes this new era of AI from previous digital transformations and what those differences could mean for human development (Chapter 1), including how AI can enhance or subvert human agency (Chapter 2). People are already interacting with AI in different ways at different stages of life, in effect scoping out possibilities, good and bad, and underscoring how context and choices can make all the difference (Chapter 3). Human agency is the price when people buy into AI hype, which can exacerbate exclusion (Chapter 4) and harm sustainability. And, of course, who produces AI and for what matter a lot for everyone (Chapter 5).
Prof. Khurshid Ahmad argues that the Western model of development overemphasized industrialization, capital formation, and technological transfer while neglecting social and cultural factors. This approach adopted as it is by the third world countries has led to negative consequences, including increased poverty, inequality, and dependence on foreign aid. Prof. Khurshid Ahmad emphasizes that the Islamic concept of development focuses on human development across moral, spiritual, and material dimensions. It encompasses the purification and growth of individuals and societies, striving for comprehensive well-being and prosperity in this world and the hereafter. He lists the goals of development policy within an Islamic framework which include human resource development, expansion of useful production, improvement in the quality of life, balanced development, evolution of new technology, and reduction of national dependency on the outside world.
When joining the Alliance, each member bank voluntarily commits to independently setting, disclosing, and reporting on their progress towards science-based de-carbonization targets, as data and methodologies allow. These individual targets aim to align portfolios to pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C above the pre-industrial global average temperature, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Guidelines for Climate Target Setting for Banks outline eight key sectors: power generation, oil and gas, coal, transport, iron and steel, cement, commercial and residential real estate, and agriculture.
Islamic Economics Project 