Singapore is proving that surviving the climate crisis can't be done alone, with the threat of flooding and extreme temperatures becoming more apparent. All hands must be on deck.
The city-state has chosen a collaborative path-involving government, citizens, academia, and the private sector-in an effort to safeguard an increasingly threatened future.
As the City Gets Hotter and the Sea Closer
The impacts of climate change in Singapore aren't just predictions on paper-they've been a long time coming and they're becoming more pronounced. The city-state is getting hotter; since 1948, the average temperature has risen by about 0.25 degrees Celsius every decade.
Sweltering days that were once rare have become more frequent every year since the 1970s. The sky has changed too. Rainfall has become heavier and more unpredictable. Data shows annual rainfall has increased by about 67 mm every decade since 1980.
In the past decade, Singapore has not only faced heavy rains, but also unpredictable strong winds. The year 2001 even saw the first officially recorded tornado-a rare phenomenon before.
The sea around it is also slowly rising. Since 1972, the sea level around Singapore has risen between 1.2 and 1.7 mm every year. For a country that is partly low-lying, this is not just a statistic, but a real threat.
Green Plan 2030: Not Just a Plan, But a Movement
Through Green Plan 2030, the country demonstrates that multi-stakeholder cooperation can be key to addressing climate threats. The plan invites communities, businesses, educational institutions, and ordinary citizens to do their part to protect the planet.
Led by five ministries - the Ministries of Sustainability and Environment (MSE), Trade and Industry (MTI), Transportation (MOT), National Development (MND), and Education (MOE) - Green Plan 2030 is not just a government roadmap.
Several concrete targets are set: quadrupling the use of solar energy by 2025, reducing waste to landfills by 30% by 2030, and a policy that all new cars and taxis registered from 2030 must be clean energy-based.
Not to mention innovative projects such as the recycling of water used to make beer (yes, beer!)-as a symbol of changing the way waste is viewed.
Behind this vision, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change (IMCCC) plays an important role. Their strategy seeks to ensure that the transition to a low-carbon economy is inclusive and does not undermine economic stability and employment, while maintaining global competitiveness.
Partnerships, Research and Community Engagement
The government's commitment is evident in the large allocation of funds to support research and action. Through the National Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2020 scheme, Singapore invested US$660 million to promote green technologies.
In the same year, the US$36.9 million SG Eco Fund was launched to support community projects that advance environmental sustainability.
Academia also plays an important role in providing the intellectual foothold and resources to test innovative ideas for real-world application.
An example is the Environmental & Water Technology Center of Innovation (EWTCOI)-a collaboration between Enterprise Singapore and Ngee Ann Polytechnic-which acts as a hub for SMEs seeking market-driven technology solutions, ranging from water and membrane technologies to green materials and energy efficiency in the urban sector.
On the other side, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has also collaborated with EnterpriseSG to establish the Singapore Agri-Food Innovation Lab (SAIL), a cross-sector platform that brings together companies, startups, SMEs, research institutes and higher education institutions to drive innovation in sustainable agriculture, digitalization and research and development.
Uniting to Face the Future
With a goal of achieving zero net emissions by 2050, Singapore understands that the climate crisis is not a problem that can be tackled by one institution alone. Through its Green Plan 2030, the country is building a collaborative ecosystem across sectors-from school benches to corporate boardrooms to community neighborhoods.
In a world of constant change and uncertainty due to climate change, Singapore reinforces an important lesson: the most effective solutions come when everyone works together.
Source:
- https://energytracker.asia/climate-change-singapore/
- https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/singapore/stories/singapores-climate-action-ecosystem-fostering-sustainable-development
- https://brewerkz.com/newbrew-2024/
- https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/singapore/
