Singapore tackles climate change while other nations delay

By Hazel Camba

Despite numerous global challenges and major economies like the United States scaling back on their climate plans, the city-state of Singapore is set to move forward with its long-term climate strategy.

Singaporean Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, spoke on The Straits Times podcast The Usual Place and emphasised that Singapore remains committed to taking climate action.

“We are a very small emitter in the overall scheme of things… whether we reduce our emissions or not, it’s not going to really move the needle,” she said.

“But we always think that Singapore likes to do what’s right. We know that that’s our responsibility as a citizen, as an individual, as a corporate citizen, as a global citizen.”

Investing in climate mitigation for future generations

In the podcast, Fu stressed that the Singaporean government has been saving funds so as to ease the financial burden on future generations.

She highlighted the government’s decision to put $5 billion (around S$6.67 billion) into the Coastal and Flood Protection Fund, which protects the nation against rising sea levels and enhances its flood resilience.

“In the area of sustainability, the coastal protection fund top-up of $5 billion is a very clear sign that when we have resources, when we have a surplus, we are going to put that aside so that this generation will start to pay for the future generation and not load all the costs on them,” Fu said.

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Importing renewable energy strengthens power grid

Fu further noted how the city-state is ramping up efforts to reduce emissions, including pushing for the use of renewable energy and importing clean-generated electricity from other countries.

“By importing renewable energy sources such as hydropower and solar power from other countries, Singapore will be able to have a more resilient grid,” she said.

The minister also stressed that having a more connected Southeast Asian electricity grid would allow countries to trade renewable energy more efficiently and thus help to meet rising electricity demands.

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Adapting to a changing climate   

In explaining climate change, Fu compared the growing accumulation of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere to adding layers of blankets over your body to build heat.

She said that it would take a long while to remove these layers, making adaptation necessary in the meanwhile.

“We have to really be serious with our adaptation. Whether it’s on heat, whether it’s on coastal protection, whether it’s on water security or food security, we need to keep our eyes on our plans and keep at it.”

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