Countries’ lack of consensus on adaptation at COP30 climate talks worrying: Grace Fu
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Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu speaking to the media on Nov 18.
PHOTO: COP30 SINGAPORE PAVILION
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BELEM, Brazil - With UN climate summit COP30 set to draw to a close on Nov 21, the lack of consensus on how countries should track progress on adaptation is concerning, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.
Adaptation refers to actions that help reduce vulnerability to climate impacts, such as building sea walls
“Many small island states, like Singapore, face existential threats of sea-level rise and more severe storm surges, which could wipe out our people,” she said in a media interview on Nov 18. “Coastal protection and flood management infrastructure is of great urgent need.”
Agreeing on a set of indicators for how countries can measure progress on implementing adaptation
Having this list of standardised indicators will allow nations to better track their vulnerabilities against the impacts of climate change, and start to address them.
For example, if countries start tracking deaths due to heat exposure and see a growing trend of such mortalities, they can start taking steps to reduce this.
Ahead of the conference, experts had whittled down an initial list of thousands of indicators to just 100.
They include indicators that track whether countries have early warning systems, and whether they measure the proportion of water and sanitation infrastructure systems that can withstand climate-related hazards.
Representatives from almost 200 nations are now gathered in the Brazilian port city of Belem to determine if this set of indicators should be adopted. If it is, it will guide global adaptation efforts by showing where and how well adaptation plans are performing.
But after more than a week of negotiations,
Areas of disagreement include how developed countries should support developing countries in adaptation efforts, in areas such as finance, technology transfer and capacity-building support.
Ms Fu, who spoke to the media just hours after the first draft of the text on adaptation was made public, said she hopes that parties will make more headway in finding common ground on the set of indicators.
Nearly half the global population, or 3.6 billion people, are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as droughts, floods and storms, even as climate adaptation remains small-scale, slow and fragmented, according to global research organisation World Resources Institute.
She said: “So I’m just a bit worried that we are still discussing a lot of details at this stage.”
The Singapore Pavilion at the conference featured two days of programmes on climate adaptation and resilience, such as on heat and food security, starting on Nov 18.
Speaking at the opening of this segment, Ms Fu also highlighted the importance of adaptation for climate action, and a country’s economic and sustainable development in the long term.
It is in countries’ interests to collectively adapt to climate crises, which have transboundary implications, she noted. “A severe flood in one part of the world disrupts the food supply and price stability across the world,” she said. “The same applies to human health. For example, as rising temperatures expand the range of disease vectors like mosquitoes, the spread of diseases such as dengue across borders is exacerbated.”
Ms Fu in her delivery of Singapore’s national statement on Nov 17 had said that the Republic will develop its first national adaptation plan
The UN had asked countries to prepare such plans by 2025.
Responding to a query by The Straits Times about the delay in the plan, Ms Fu said there was no fixed deadline for submitting the plan. She added that Singapore wanted to reference the set of indicators in developing its national adaptation plan.
Currently, the Republic already has in place various measures that can help its people adapt to climate change impacts. These include heatwave plans and sea walls.
But Ms Fu said that with an agreement on the indicator list at COP30, Singapore could take the opportunity to review these plans.
“We want to look where the gaps are, and what are the measures we need to take to up our preparation,” she said. “So this is really in anticipation of the discussion (on adaptation), and we hope that with a successful conclusion, we can use that as a basis for our national adaptation plan.”
Ms Fu added that she envisions the Republic’s adaptation plan to be one that involves the community, businesses and stakeholders, “so that everyone can have their input into this adaptation plan for the future”.
Unlike cutting planet-warming carbon emissions, adaptation is “hyper local”, which will necessitate the involvement of communities and other stakeholders, she added.
Another major sticking point is how much funds developing countries will get to finance their adaptation measures.
Adaptation finance has traditionally lagged behind financing efforts for absorbing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as setting up a renewable energy plant. Noting that the commercial availability of adaptation solutions is usually limited, countries that do not have the means of implementation rely on either donations or official development assistance, said Ms Fu.
As a developing country, Singapore is not obliged under the UN framework to contribute to climate finance. But it is working to contribute more to adaptation finance through other means.
For instance, it has voluntarily committed to setting aside 5 per cent of the proceeds from carbon credit transactions
Another way that the Republic will contribute is to share its expertise, she said.
On Nov 18, Ms Fu attended the second roundtable for ministers committed to cutting cooling-related emissions by 68 per cent by 2050.
She said the Republic plans to host the Global Cooling Pledge Focal Points meeting, with plans for training workshops in areas such as passive and nature-based cooling and energy efficiency standards for cooling technologies.
She added: “We invite countries and cities to participate, and look forward to forging new partnerships and collaborations that will bring us closer to our shared goals.”
