Myopic governments that operate in short time-frames create obstacles for solving the climate change crisis facing the world today, said Singapore’s minister for the environment and water resources Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday.
“Nobody wins an election from saving the world,” he told the opening session of the Creating Climate Wealth summit - the first to be held in Asia. But if rules are not clearly or consistently applied for the long-term by governments, businesses would not dare to make the investments needed, he said.
Governments must be also be transparent. They have to provide the information that people have the right to know. This enables people to make informed, sustainable choices, he said.
Speaking to a 250-strong audience at Marina Bay Sands, he outlined a vision for Singapore as a city that is climate ready, resilient and ready for green growth.
Even if the whole of Singapore was covered with solar panels, it will only generate 10 to 12 per cent of the country’s needs. It also does not have wind, thermal or tidal energy, so its main focus is on energy efficiency, and exploring low carbon technologies.
Singapore’s commitment to sustainability is because “we have no choice”, he said. “If we have lots of natural resources, (and we’re) not a low lying island.. we wouldn’t have to do all this. When we say we need to be climate resilient, or global city, it’s real”.
The key to economic survival is to create a living environment which is “compellingly attractive, somewhere that attracts talent and ideas.. somewhere you want your kids to be,” he said.
“This is not a tripe marketing campaign, but the vision is one that’s carefully thought through.”
The Creating Climate Wealth summit is held by Carbon War Room (CWR), a non-profit founded by chairman of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson.
CWR president Jose Maria Figueres, who also spoke at the opening, said the organisation came to Singapore because of the opportunity to engage businesses in the region.
“We’re always impressed with what Singapore has been able to achieve with their global vision, and the way they bring about change in such a practical dimension,” he said.
He noted that the world needs to “reinvent the way we live” as humanity is beginning to feel the limits of the planetary system with respect to its resources in the face of population growth.
In spite of the global financial crisis that rocked the world in 2008, ““I see an intention to take us forward into the past… we are going back to where we’re coming from”, he said.
The world needs a future that is completely different, one that embraces transformation. “We need to accelerate market-driven solutions that reduce carbon emissions at the gigatonne scale,” said Mr Figueres, who was the president of Costa Rica.
“Although we have individual responsibility to reduce carbon footprint, scale is important,” he said.
The scaling up of solutions was a central theme of the two-day conference that featured four working tracks in the areas of energy efficiency, waste, smart city systems, and shipping.
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The event, which featured an appearance by Sir Richard Branson, was held in partnership with Global Initiatives, the National University of Singapore, Marina Bay Sands and Eco-Business. It convened entrepreneurs and innovators to identify opportunities for investment into low carbon technologies that can dramatically cut carbon.
