Podcast Picks: A greener environment and wallet

The recent oil spill incident at Pasir Panjang Terminal on June 14 has roused concern for the environment and businesses along the beachfront.

This week, we focus our latest podcast episodes around environmental and wildlife conservation, with a bonus mention featuring a different kind of “green” - money and the economy.

Green Trails Podcast: Visit to East Coast - how reclamation will shape up against rising sea levels

Climate change continues exacerbating rising sea levels today, and by end-century, Singapore’s mean sea level is expected to rise by up to 1.15m. Should exceptionally high tides or storm surges hit, seawater levels could rise a whopping 5m, breaking through the coast and potentially submerging up to a third of our land underwater.

To prevent this reality, there are plans to have a defence offshore. That is Long Island, twice the size of Marina Bay reclaimed off the east coast, with a reservoir in between.

Naturally, a project of such scale invites concerns, primarily revolving around its impact on the East Coast landscape, marine life, and Singapore’s youth, who will see the project taking shape in their lifetimes. Our Green Trails podcast explores the vision, plans and expectations.

The June 14 oil spill has been testament that, human activity - if not managed properly - can threaten coastal and marine habitats, including the biodiversity-rich Southern Islands.

The second episode of our Green Trails special brings host Shabana Begum, Mr Lee Wai Kin, group director of strategic planning at URA’s strategic planning group and Mr Thoo Jung Chee, senior deputy director for coastal engineering at PUB’s coastal protection department together.

They first talk about how the project is expected to pan out. Both agencies are spearheading the Long Island project.

Did you know that the marine habitats we see today at East Coast Park, such as corals along the seawalls and seagrass meadows along the beach, had previously recolonised the space after the reclamation of the land for the East Coast?

As the planning for Long Island progresses, Mr Lee says agencies will study how they can facilitate for the same recolonisation to happen.

“We will explore hybrid designs for the new coastline to incorporate nature elements to provide both coastal protection and ecological benefits. So for example, we will explore how we can design the seawalls on the outer coastline to recruit corals or protect a perch beach, where seagrass can grow again,” he adds.

Ms Shabana later speaks with Mr Lester Tan, chairman, Marine Conservation Group, Nature Society (Singapore), to learn about the threatened species who have found home around East Coast Park and a lesser known habitat near Marina Barrage.

Our podcast special also invites Mr Maximus Tan, 22, resident of Siglap and general-secretary of the Marine Parade Youth Network and Mr Crispus Tan, 27, who is familiar with PUB’s coastal conversations and had participated in a competition about designing Long Island last year, to chime in and share their aspirations for Long Island.

Green Pulse Podcast: South-East Asia’s carbon storage dreams: Visionary climate solution or folly?

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the latest developments and topics of research in environmental conservation. As its name suggests, the goal of CCS is to contain carbon emissions by industries and the burning of fossil fuels deep in the ground to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

This is done by condensing carbon dioxide elements into a dense, concentrated form effectively known as “super critical liquid” using intense pressure, before transporting and injecting them approximately 800m underground, into the pores of rocks where it bonds with them.

In the latest episode of Green Pulse, ST climate change editor and host David Fogarty speaks with energy sector expert Grant Hauber, advisor for Asia for the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, a US-based think tank. 

They evaluate the effectiveness, risks involved and overall value in scaling CCS efforts, including the creation of regional hubs - one of which will be housed in South-east Asia, using depleted oil and gas wells.

While such a project might seem like a good idea at a glance, the cost incurred has not proven to be justified.

The globe emits about 39 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, and past CCS projects have only managed to capture between 1.5 and 5 million tonnes of it, according to Mr Hauber.

“These are very, very small quantities, yet... they have already spent a billion dollars preparing the site to receive this small quantity,” he adds.

So, is this truly an effective way of decarbonising the world?

Invest Talk Podcast: Halfway mark of 2024 - our expert offers top stock picks in Singapore

Despite geopolitical uncertainties and operating in an environment of high interest rates, Singapore’s companies are adapting well, says Mr Thilan Wickramesinghe, regional head of research at Maybank Securities and guest on the latest episode of host Ven Sreenivasan’s Invest Talk.

Mr Thilan first comments on the growth of Singapore’s GDP in the first quarter, noting that the country has had a turnaround to positive territory, outperforming markets of Asean counterparts like Thailand.

Another interesting point of discussion was why one ought to invest in Singapore and neighbouring South-east Asian markets, instead of just the headline-grabbing US market alone.

Despite US markets being highly attractive, the flows of investment are really concentrated on just one stock, the semiconductor giant Nvidia.

Such highly concentrated positions carry big risks, according to Mr Thilan, who advised diversifying one’s portfolio to markets in other regions.

“The markets here offer a counter to the US with more old world industries such as financials, resources, consumption, in a region that is also growing very, very rapidly,” he says.

Once again, do also check out our True Crimes of Asia podcast series, which clinched the gold award for Best Podcast at the Digital Media Awards Asia 2024 in April, and third place for Best Podcast at the Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2024, both organised by the World Association of News Publishers (Wan-Ifra).

Discover our ST podcast channels:

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Your Money & Career:

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Hard Tackle:

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#PopVultures:

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Music Lab:

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ST Podcast website:

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ST Podcasts YouTube:

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps):

https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps):

https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps):

https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps):

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Singapore’s War On Covid (5 eps):

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