Delaying progress on net zero will lead to disorderly transition: S'pore's climate envoy

Any further delay in climate action would result in a disorderly transition towards limiting global warming, Singapore's ambassador for climate action warned on Feb 21, saying that escalating climate impacts would be catastrophic for societies.

- Shabana Begum

Despite the current political and economic headwinds confronting climate action, it is ultimately nature that calls the shots, said Mr Ravi Menon, citing worsening heatwaves and melting Arctic sea ice pushing the planet to the brink.

"The timeline is not set by electoral cycles or cost curves; it is set by nature. Whether we are a country or a company, the longer we delay action, the more disorderly the transition will become for us," added the former chief of the country's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

His remarks at a sustainability dialogue event come at a time when countries are scaling back on climate action, with only 13 countries, including Singapore, submitting their 2035 climate targets to the UN by the Feb 10 deadline.

With the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement again, it signals a clear step back for global climate action, said Mr Menon, noting that political support to decarbonise has weakened in other countries also.

He cited Indonesia's special envoy for climate change and energy, who recently asked why the archipelagic nation should comply with the Paris climate pact if the US did not. "I expect other countries to be asking themselves the same thing. We cannot rule out some countries lowering their climate ambition because of the position taken by the US," Mr Menon told business leaders, academics and public officials at the Ecosperity Conversations one-day event held at PwC Singapore's office at Marina One.

"Overall, global political developments on the climate front have been mixed, but I would say more negative than positive," he said.