IPCC Chairman urges Singapore to do more to address climate change

Channel NewsAsia 13 Nov 14;

SINGAPORE: In a joint statement on Thursday (Nov 13), the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) said the Singapore scientific community has undertaken various studies and initiatives to improve the understanding of climate change and its impact on Singapore.

For example, Singapore's first National Climate Change study involved scientists and experts from the National University of Singapore's Tropical Marine Science Institute and the Institute of High Performance Computing of A*STAR.

The statement was a response to comments made by Rajendra Pachauri, the chairperson of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at the UN.

In an exclusive interview with 938LIVE, Dr Pachauri had said he would like to see a much stronger involvement by Singapore. "Singapore is also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and I would like to see a much stronger involvement of the scientific community over there in this decision-making."

Dr Pachauri also spoke of the need for outreach efforts by Singapore, where "the findings of the report are sent out and received all over the world".

"In that regard, I think Singapore has a stake in ensuring that there is global action on climate change. I would have been very happy if some support was provided to the IPCC for carrying out this outreach exercise," he said.

MEWR and NCCS said the Government is also taking steps to strengthen Singapore's capabilities on climate science. Last year, the Centre for Climate Research Singapore was established. It is the first research centre in the world dedicated to the study of tropical weather and climate of the region.

In tandem, a Climate Science Experts Network was set up to undertake joint educational and research efforts with local universities and research institutes. Some Singapore-based scientists and experts were also involved in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report as authors and reviewers.

MEWR and NCCS pointed to the collaboration between Singapore and the IPCC, which resulted in a regional outreach event in July last year to raise awareness of the main conclusions of the report and to promote dialogue among the stakeholders on the implications of the report.

The agencies added that Singapore will continue to support IPCC in its endeavour to provide a clear and up-to-date view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change. Singapore also welcomes the IPCC to form partnerships with local research institutions and non-governmental organisations to explore avenues for collaborations.

- 938LIVE/xy