This is a special Straits Times resource for pre-university students as part of The Straits Times-Ministry of Education News Outreach Programme.
The team behind the ST-MOE News Outreach Programme has compiled a series of news resources for you. This week, we look at Climate adaptation strategy.
The global climate agenda has entered a more turbulent phase over the past 15 months.
Major powers are increasingly preoccupied with security and strategic rivalry, while global cooperation on climate change faces new uncertainties.
The retreat of climate leadership from the United States has further complicated efforts to sustain momentum.
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Adapting to climate change impacts will be a key priority for Singapore in 2026.
The Straits Times highlights the new initiatives to shield residents from impacts such as extreme heat and erratic weather, which were announced during the debate on the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment’s (MSE) budget.
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Who should carry the responsibility of climate adaptation – from raising shorelines in response to rising sea levels to dealing with storm surges as weather patterns become erratic?
Across the world, governments typically shoulder this overwhelming burden. More than 90 per cent of global climate adaptation financing currently comes from national governments and development banks, according to the World Economic Forum.
Singapore is trying something different. The Coastal Protection and Other Amendments Bill passed on March 6 introduces a governance model that assigns responsibility for coastal protection not only to the Government, but also to private landowners along the shoreline.
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On Feb 11, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said Singapore has to rebalance its priorities and put more weight on adapting to climate impacts, as geopolitics has put a damper on efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
In my view, this focus on adaptation is timely for a city-state exposed to climate change impacts such as rising temperatures and sea levels.
His comments come at a time when global efforts to tackle the root cause of climate change – fossil fuel use – are coming under attack from political rhetoric and economic concerns, giving rise to fears that climate change impacts will escalate.
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In one of the most climate-threatened corners of the planet lies a small island nation, its shores being eaten away by rising sea levels.
Home to some 10,000 people, Tuvalu – located between Hawaii and Australia – is dealing with sea-level rise by building seawalls and reclaiming land.
But it is also moving its people elsewhere. More than 80 per cent of its population has applied to move to Australia under a landmark climate visa designed to help people escape rising sea levels, reported France 24 in July.
As a small island nation, Singapore is also not spared from sea-level rise.
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