ST Podcasts Live: How individuals can play their part in combating climate change

SINGAPORE – For a sustainability project that encourages repair over disposal, it is perhaps surprising that many participants of Repair Kopitiam join for practical reasons instead of environmental ones.

Saving money, having fun and meeting new people were the most commonly cited reasons for joining the grassroots initiative, which teaches people to repair damaged items like electronics and furniture instead of throwing them away.

Only about 20 per cent of participants gave environmental reasons, said Mr Veerappan Swaminathan, co-founder of Repair Kopitiam.

Incidental sustainability – the act of being sustainable due to reasons not related to sustainability – is something that projects and programmes should consider, he added.

“We have to reframe some of these projects and programmes, and meet where people are,” said Mr Veerappan, who is also chief executive of consultancy Sustainable Living Lab Group.

He was answering an audience member’s question about how climate conversations can be brought to the common man.

Mr Veerappan was a guest panellist, alongside National University of Singapore Assistant Professor Alisius Leong, at a live podcast recording of The Straits Times’ Green Pulse podcast on Dec 2.

More than 50 people attended the free event at SPH Media’s auditorium. Kiss92 radio DJ Kim Anne Tan was the event’s emcee.

The panel was discussing whether individual actions can move the needle on climate change.

Joining them were ST correspondents Shabana Begum and Ang Qing, the podcast’s hosts.

The live recording of the Green Pulse podcast, which provides a South-east Asian perspective on climate change and environmental issues, was one of two podcast recordings in the sixth and final ST Podcasts Live series.

One topic discussed was whether the climate issue is solely a government issue, beyond the influence of individuals.

Prof Leong said individual actions can shape societal norms.

“When there is a critical mass, when enough people are engaging in these actions, I think corporations, businesses (and) the Government do pay attention,” she said.

She cited an example of how increasing consumer demand for electric vehicles pushed companies to shift their production to EVs.

Mr Veerappan also agreed that individuals have the power to make an impact.

“One of the things that I often remind people is (to) look at your own sphere of influence – the organisation that you work in, the friends that you hang out with, and even colleagues and... family members whom you speak to. All these are points of influence that you can actually make change starting from there,” he said.

ST’s Wheel Insights podcast, hosted by ST senior transport correspondent Lee Nian Tjoe, was also recorded at the Dec 2 event. He was joined by Mr Andrey Berdichevskiy, partner and associate director of Boston Consulting Group, and Professor S. Viswanathan from Nanyang Business School.

The panel discussed whether current efforts to “green” Singapore’s transport are sufficient, and how commuters can aid the transition.

ST recently reported that

from Oct 1, 2026, departing air passengers from Singapore will have to pay a sustainable aviation fuel levy on their flight tickets.

Responding to Mr Lee’s question on whether the levy is sufficient to make a meaningful impact on consumers’ aviation habits, Prof Viswanathan said that while Singapore needs to decarbonise for the long run, the Republic cannot afford to price people out of taking flights as the aviation sector provides a lot of jobs for Singaporeans.

He said the levy ensures airlines that buy sustainable aviation fuel in Singapore are actually compensated, as the fuel costs about two to five times more than kerosene, which is used to make aviation fuel.

“So it’s not really about discouraging air travel at the moment, it’s more about whether we can make the baby steps to actually decarbonise aviation,” Prof Viswanathan said.

Mr Berdichevskiy said that there is a need for market mechanisms to equalise the playing field and “give a chance to sustainable aviation fuel”.

He added that individuals can also adopt a playful mindset, to find joy in saving carbon. 

“I use my commute to listen to music... and discover new tracks,” he said.

Individuals can also “cast a wider net” and see where they can reduce their carbon footprint, be it eating less meat or repairing things instead of throwing them away, he added.

Mr Jason Ng, 33, programmes and community manager at a sustainability charity, was one of the attendees at the event. He said he usually does not listen to podcasts, and found the live version more engaging.

“I think it is great that there is a live version of the podcast, because when I go to an event, I would pay attention,” he added.

Dr Nachammai Vidhya, 33, said the podcasts provided her with new perspectives. She cited the dialogue on managing carbon emissions in the aviation industry as an example of something that she learnt and that she had not often considered.

ST should hold more such events and explore more ways to connect with audiences, she added.

Watch all the ST Podcasts Live events:

https://str.sg/uGmo