But political expediency makes it hard for countries to act, he says
Jeremy Au Yong Straits Times 3 May 10;
THE Copenhagen climate change summit last December was not a complete failure, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, although world leaders failed to agree on carbon emission targets.
His reason: 'It brought minds to bear on the matter and everybody knows if you want me to do this, you got to commit yourself.'
But this lack of agreement to commit stems from one main stumbling block: the lack of political will of governments to tackle a long-term problem.
'Governments stay in power not by promising to cut down growth rates, but by promising a better life...So the idea of taking tough action now as against putting it off to a future generation - anyway, they will be out of office - the result is, let's put it off, we'll talk about it,' he told more than 1,000 delegates attending an international law conference.
MM Lee gave this frank assessment during a dialogue yesterday, the first day of a four-day conference of the
Inter-Pacific Bar Association. Its theme was 'Climate Change and Legal Practice'.
He had been asked by the session's moderator, Professor Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, what lessons could be learnt from the disappointing summit.
Mr Lee said countries understood the long-term consequences and they knew what they had to do to fix it. But the emphasis on political expediency meant they could not commit to doing it.
Elaborating, he said: 'The US did not commit itself and could not commit itself because it has to go through Congress... Even if they were prepared to commit themselves, I don't think the Chinese and Indians will commit themselves.'
But, he added, China and India are not the bad guys in climate change talks as they are often portrayed. They are not blind to the threats of climate change.
'The Chinese are very possessed by this problem because their people are already suffering from air pollution, water pollution and they are now going for sustainable growth...' he said.
'They've set an internal target. What they don't want is a target which allows the world to come and inspect whether they have lived up to it. That's the Indian position too.'
He also noted that the Chinese were focused on the Tianjin Eco-City project it was doing in partnership with Singapore. There, a clean city was being built on a piece of land which was previously regarded as unusable.
Given these deep-seated problems, Mr Lee remained pessimistic that any breakthrough would happen in Cancun, Mexico, this year when world leaders meet to discuss the subject.
'I'd be surprised if there's any fixed commitments at Cancun...Each time they meet, they know the world has changed slightly for the worse, and that's being registered in all the world's capitals.'
He believes technology will provide the way out of the climate change problem.
Asked later about Singapore's own strategy, especially the use of solar power, Mr Lee said solar panels were not efficient enough yet for widespread use. What Singapore is trying to do now is to cut its emissions and this includes converting power stations from oil to gas.
Though yesterday's dialogue was to be on climate change, the questions ranged from the state of banking to the rise of China and India.
The conference, which will also feature a speech by former US vice-president Al Gore, ends on Wednesday.
Climate talks in Copenhagen not a failure, but a chance for minds to meet
S Ramesh Channel NewsAsia 2 May 10;
SINGAPORE : The climate change talks held in Copenhagen last year weren't a complete failure but a chance for minds to meet, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
But Mr Lee does not think much will come out from the next round of talks to be held in Cancun, as long as countries like the US, China and India keep to their stand on the issue.
He was speaking at the 20th annual conference of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association on the theme "climate change and legal practice" - the first major event at the Marina Sands Convention Centre.
Mr Lee described climate change as something that has real consequences many years down the road.
"The biggest problem with Copenhagen (talks) is the US could not commit itself because it has to go through Congress, and the Americans are not prepared to say before hand we commit ourselves to reduction of "X" per cent of our carbon footprint, even if they were prepared to commit themselves," said MM Lee.
"I don't think the Chinese and the Indians would commit themselves. I see more dilly-dallying internationally with every country focused on its own internal problems. So we are into a very difficult, messy series of annual meetings," he added.
Elaborating on why climate change agreement did not materialise, Mr Lee said: "The problem is governments; the government stays in power not by promising to cut down growth rates, but by promising a better life… So the idea of taking tough action now against putting off to the future generation, the result is - let's put it off and talk about it."
Climate change was not the only issue participants at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association conference were interested in. They also wanted Mr Lee's views on the future of China and India, and whether the Doha Round of talks would move forward.
"I think the Doha Round is not going to go anywhere as long as this (US) Congress will not pass the laws," said Mr Lee.
And there was also the often asked question of how Singapore can help countries like China and India develop.
"The first thing you learn as a small country is to act small and humble. You go around telling people, they say you are out of your depth, you don't understand my problems. So we keep our mouth shut unless we are asked," said Mr Lee.
The four-day conference will also discuss the challenges posed by climate change to various sectors such as aviation. - CNA /ls
Climate change and the stumbling block of domestic politics
Leong Wee Keat, Today Online 3 Apr 10;
SINGAPORE - As climate changes and its "catastrophic" effects threaten the globe, governments worldwide face a conundrum - they stay in power by promising citizens better economic growth rates and a better life, but their emphasis on domestic politics has resulted in a stalemate on fighting climate change, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said yesterday.
Thus, the problem with fighting climate change is governments themselves.
Mr Lee was responding at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association Annual Conference yesterday - which picked climate change and legal practice as its theme - on whether last year's United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen was a failure.
Climate change dominated the hour-long dialogue, with five out of 12 questions posed to Mr Lee focusing on the subject.
While he would not say the Copenhagen Summit was a failure - as it led to a meeting of world leaders' minds on the issue - Mr Lee was pessimistic about future meetings securing a breakthrough in setting commitments on cuts in carbon emissions.
There will be "more dilly dallying internationally", he said, as every country focuses on its own internal problems.
Significant improvements to slow down climate change will depend on the technology that can be discovered. "If it can't be discovered, future generations will have to live with the consequences," said Mr Lee.
While he "will be surprised" if there are any fixed commitments on cuts in carbon emissions at this year's Summit in Cancun, Mexico, Mr Lee said the "difficult, messy series of annual meetings" would serve as stark reminders to the world's leaders.
Noting that Singapore has plans to be a renewal energy hub in South-east Asia, an American participant - who has been living here for 19 years - wondered what the Government's plans to promote solar energy and installing solar panels on buildings here were.
While he noted cities such as Beijing have installed solar panels, Mr Lee said the Government will need to consider the economics of installing solar panels on buildings here. "But what we can do is to minimise our carbon footprint," he added.
The Government has pledged to bring down its level of carbon emission growth. But whether it reaches the target of 16 per cent below the "business as usual" level by 2020 will depend on one thing - a legally binding global deal to fight climate change.
Singapore will also "keep our mouths shut, unless we are asked", said Mr Lee, replying to another participant who wondered if Singapore - cited previously for its influence beyond its relative numbers - could influence the rest of the world, through policies, laws and cultural norms.
This is because "if you are a small country, you act small and humble. If you tell people what to do, they will say, 'you are out of your depth, you don't understand our problems", Mr Lee said. But if asked to help similar sized cities or states, the Republic will share its experiences with others.
The onus on fighting climate change lies with governments, though Mr Lee acknowledged it is easier said than done.
"Everyone knows what has to be done. Every government knows if they do it, they will lose in the next elections," he said.
