How politics thwarts climate change action

September 2023 was

the hottest month in recorded history,

surpassing the previous record set in September 2020. In fact, the hottest 12 years have been those since 2010. During that time, climate disasters have repeatedly hit the headlines: epic floods that submerged one-third of Pakistan, Hurricane Ian in the United States that caused damage estimated at US$100 billion (S$137 billion), wildfires in Canada that razed an area as large as Germany, countless tropical storms, and heatwaves in the unlikeliest of places, including the Arctic and Antarctica, to cite but a partial list of recent cases.

So frequent are the reports highlighting such catastrophes that people have become numbed to news of them. What were once-in-a century, off-the-chart events are being accepted as the new normal hazards of life.