Climate Action Leaning Towards More Global Collaboration, Says SM Teo

Singapore Will Continue To Pursue Green Partnerships, Grasp New Opportunities

- Chin Hui Shan

Despite the ebbs and flows across election cycles and administrations, the trend on climate action has leaned towards global collaboration and cooperation, and Singapore will continue to pursue partnerships on this front, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on May 6.

Singapore cannot be sure what other countries will or will not do, he said, but pointed to how climate change impacts were already being felt.

"Climate change will not wait for us to be ready. The longer we delay, the more abrupt and harder our transition will be," he added.

"We will secure Singapore's future by doing our part and collaborating with the world to reduce emissions," said SM Teo in his keynote address at Ecosperity Week, a sustainability conference convened by Singapore's investment company Temasek.

The Republic will also get its economy ready to grasp new opportunities in a low-carbon world, and prepare to protect its people from the effects of a warmer world, said SM Teo, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change.

His remarks come amid changes in the geopolitical climate that are causing sustainability and climate concerns to take a back seat.

For example, the US—one of the world's largest emitters—had said in January that it will pull out of the Paris Agreement. Indonesia subsequently said it considers the global climate pact no longer relevant for the country.

"Under these circumstances, it is not surprising to hear calls for climate ambition to be rolled back or at least deferred," said SM Teo.

Governments and businesses are under pressure to focus on immediate concerns, including preserving jobs and deepening reserves in anticipation of potential shocks, he added.