S’pore has to focus on climate adaptation amid geopolitical shifts in cutting emissions: Janil
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Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary (left) in a dialogue with Singapore Institute of International Affairs chairman Simon Tay on Feb 11.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
- Singapore must rebalance priorities towards climate adaptation, as global carbon emission reduction proves increasingly tough due to geopolitical shifts.
- Singapore can anchor economic value from climate adaptation, leveraging its capabilities like water technologies and flood defences, attracting businesses.
- The Asian Development Bank highlighted a lack of bankable climate adaptation projects, making it challenging to attract crucial private sector investment.
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SINGAPORE - Like the rest of the world, Singapore has to rebalance its priorities and put more weight on adapting to climate impacts as the global effort to reduce carbon emissions becomes increasingly challenged, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said on Feb 11.
Pointing to geopolitical developments such as the US’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and changes to its domestic agenda to re-emphasise the primacy of fossil fuels, as well as the bid among oil-producing countries to continue to extract value from their fossil fuel reserves, Dr Janil said addressing climate change has become increasingly difficult.
He added that the current geopolitical turbulence was “not a small blip” that would change with one electoral cycle. Given this, Singapore has to make national survival a “priority consideration”.
Speaking at the 2nd Singapore Green Dialogue, organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), Dr Janil said: “It looks like we are not quite getting mitigation right, then we are all going to have to respond with adaptation.”
Mitigation refers to actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while adaptation refers to actions that reduce the impact of climate change on communities. Adaptation measures could include building coastal defences from rising seas and protecting the vulnerable from extreme heat.
“What is in our interest for our survival and our resilience? (We are a) low-lying island state – 30 per cent of our country is exposed to sea level rise of somewhere between 1m and 5m,” Dr Janil said.
He noted that Singapore depends on external trade for food, energy and water. “All the risks to our supply chains, producers, partners, they are affected by climate change,” he said.
He made these remarks in a dialogue with SIIA chairman Simon Tay, which covered how Singapore can sustain its climate commitments in a turbulent world.
Over the past few years, Singapore has introduced several adaptation measures. They include a national heatwave response plan, campaigns to prepare for flash floods and ongoing studies to find the most suitable forms of coastal defences
Dr Janil also said Singapore is currently preparing its inaugural national adaptation plan, which will serve as the nation’s long-term road map to outline actions that the Republic can take to enhance its resilience against climate impacts. He did not give further details.
In a parliamentary reply in January, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said Singapore is planning to publish the document in 2027, and more details on the national adaptation plan will be revealed at the upcoming debate on her ministry’s budget.
Dr Janil said that even while addressing climate change impacts, there is scope for the country to reap economic value from it. He cited Singapore’s years-long efforts in exporting water technologies.
“(As) one of the most water-stressed nations in the world, we are now an exporter of water technology and have significant ability to extract economic value for that,” noted Dr Janil.
Moreover, having a national adaptation plan in place could also make Singapore more attractive to businesses, he added.
Businesses are increasingly considering climate change impacts on their assets, and that influences where they move to and invest in, he noted. A location with measures in place to prevent hazards would be more attractive.
“Countries, regions and businesses that invest in adaptation plans ahead of time are going to become more resilient. They are going to become more prepared, and eventually people will price in either a risk premium or a resilience premium,” Dr Janil said.
Businesses in a particular climate-vulnerable location either could benefit from the existence of national adaptation plans and resilience measures, or will be exposed to risks due to the absence of such plans, he explained.
“And as they price in that risk or premium... the investments in infrastructure, capability development and risk reduction from businesses will come and match the public sector financing that we are putting in place,” said Dr Janil.
