Welcome to SEARCA Knowledge Center on Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management in Southeast Asia (KC3)

Singapore

Published on 29 December 2017
His ministry wants the public to know “the government alone cannot tackle climate change”, and will be rallying Singaporeans to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint with the help of various partners. On the ground, there is no lack of enthusiasm among environmental activists, who already have plans lined up to get people to take little steps to make a difference – bring their…
Published on 5 December 2017
Speaking at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, Mr Masagos Zulkifli stressed Singapore’s commitment to fight climate change, given that the island-state is vulnerable to the environmental impact. He said that while Singapore has placed considerable emphasis on sustainable development in its early years of nation-building, “we want to do more to instill awareness of climate change among our citizens and…
Published on 11 October 2017
Building facades that can generate electricity from the sun, movable solar systems, and floating solar energy plants—if this sounds like a vision of the future, that’s because it is for space-crunched Singapore. These innovations form the centerpiece of the island nation’s ongoing push to develop solar technologies suited for cities like Singapore, known as “urban solar”. The 720 square kilometers city-state has the third-highest population…
Published on 28 September 2017
That is not surprising for a small, low-lying, island city-state that is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Last year, it joined more than 120 countries to ratify the Paris Agreement, committing to tackle climate change through reducing emissions intensity by 36 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. One method Singapore policymakers have adopted to reduce the city-state’s carbon footprint is by moving away from fossil…
Published on 13 September 2017
No salary But his love for plants pushed him on despite the tough circumstances. He was bootstrapping, and owed more than S$300,000 in debt. He went without a salary for two to three years. He was a botanist at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1987, and held other positions such as assistant curator of horticulture at the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari and…
Published on 10 September 2017
Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, is hurtling its way through the Caribbean and will reach the Florida coastline today, where 5.6 million people have been ordered out of Irma's path. But in its wake, the hurricane has devastated communities and left at least 21 dead. It follows tropical cyclones that have ripped across other parts of the world…
Published on 7 September 2017
The floating fish farm, being developed by the world's largest oil rig builder, Keppel Offshore and Marine, features extensive automation in the feeding, health-monitoring and cleaning of fish in both underwater and above-water facilities. Although the design is still at the conceptual stage, it demonstrates how farming, an activity normally associated with manual labour and old-fashioned implements, can be engineered into a highly efficient and…
Published on 2 September 2017
The BYO—which stands for ‘bring your own’—campaign calls on Singaporeans to bring their own bags and containers when buying food and drinks, with the aim of cutting down on the amount of discarded take-away plastic. Singapore threw away 822,000 tonnes of plastic last year, out of which only seven per cent was recycled, according to data from the National Environment Agency. Although plastic can be…
Published on 29 August 2017
Much has been written on how to maintain this infrastructure, particularly in the difficult transition zones where trains leave land to ascend bridges over water. "All railway systems suffer rapid track deterioration at the transition zones requiring high maintenance costs," said Sakdirat Kaewunruen, Ph.D., Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. "In the past decades, there have been so many ad hoc solutions…
Published on 24 August 2017
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas and Singapore Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli, officiated the opening ceremony of the new Regional Office for Asia and the South-West Pacific. The ceremony was held at the MSS Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS), where the Office is co-located. This is the first time a WMO Regional Office will be located within Asia and the South-West…
Published on 17 July 2017
PRODUCTIVITY THE NEW BUZZWORD With erratic weather patterns arising from global warming, an increasing population and Singapore's heavy reliance on imported food, productivity is an oft-repeated buzzword in the local farming industry. On Mar 7, the Government unveiled its Farm Transformation Map, with innovation and the use of technology seen as key means to boosting farm yields. Likewise, productivity-related criteria were included in the tender…
Published on 15 June 2017
The public sector is Singapore’s largest employer, comprising 16 ministries, 64 statutory boards and about 145,000 public officers. As a significant consumer of natural resources, the public sector is taking the lead to contribute to the nationwide Sustainable Singapore Movement, and the goals articulated in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint. The PSSP outlines the public sector’s collective efforts to go green. This includes embarking on innovative…
Published on 5 June 2017
As a small, densely populated island nation with no natural resources, Singapore’s own sustainable development experience has focused on four key areas: Building a sustainable economy; creating a sustainable living environment; ensuring sustainable development for our people; and contributing to international collaboration. Sustainable economy Economic growth generates the resources to invest in education, research and development, security, infrastructure, and public services. With no natural resources…
Published on 19 April 2017
The scheme will tax large emitters - such as power stations, refineries, and petrochemical and semiconductor manufacturers - based on the amount of greenhouse gases they produce, likely in the range of $10 to $20 per tonne. They will also have to be more active in seeking opportunities to improve energy efficiency, and ensure common industrial equipment and systems meet minimum energy performance standards. From…
Published on 3 March 2017
Mr Heng said the Government is looking at setting a carbon tax rate of between S$10 and S$20 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions, which is within the range of what other jurisdictions have implemented. The move will make Singapore the first country in South-east Asia to implement such a tax. “There are different ways to reduce emissions … But the most economically efficient and…
Published on 1 March 2017
Announcing the move in the Budget on Monday (Feb 20), Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said that the new scheme would replace the Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS), which expires in June but will be extended until the year end. Under the CEVS — last revised in 2015 — buyers who get vehicles with a low carbon footprint (135g of carbon emissions per km or…
Published on 14 November 2016
Mr Teo, who is also chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, was speaking at the awards ceremony for the National Climate Change Competition, a student video competition organised by the National Climate Change Secretariat. "Each country has to account for the greenhouse gas emissions that it's making, so it's important in particular that the big emitters have good measurement and verification systems in…
Published on 19 October 2016
Singapore’s ratification of the Agreement is a further affirmation of our support and commitment for climate action. This follows the signing of the Agreement by Minister Balakrishnan in New York on 22 April 2016, together with representatives from 174 other countries. The unity of purpose demonstrated by the international community marks a major milestone in global climate action. It has contributed towards bringing the Agreement…
Published on 14 September 2016
Ensuring cities in Asia are more sustainable and able to mitigate climate change is a difficult task, but Singapore has ideas that can be shared with its neighbours, says Tai Lee Siang, group managing director of architecture company Ong&Ong Group and the first Asian chair of the Board of Directors at the World Green Building Council (WGBC). In an e-mail interview with Climate Challenge, Tai…
Published on 13 September 2016
Saving electricity at home and at work could soon be a cinch thanks to two prototypes recently created by Singaporean youths. One is a power monitoring system that could enable users to track their energy use, while the other is an extension multi-plug that switches off all devices connected to it with a push of a button. The two innovations were brainstormed and developed over…
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