9 in 10 S'pore youths willing to do their part for the environment, but want Govt to do more: Survey

NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 7 Aug 19;

SINGAPORE — A survey by Mediacorp has found that the vast majority of Singapore youths are concerned about the impact of climate change and want to do their part to address the problem.

At the same time, they also want the Government to do more on this front — with nearly a third of those aged between 18 and 24, for example, believing that Singapore’s current infrastructure is inadequate to withstand the impact of climate change.

Conducted between July 20 and 24, the online survey polled 1,002 Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 18 and above on their views about climate change and the Government's actions on the issue. Days before the survey was carried out, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli described climate change as a “pressing priority and existential challenge”.

Speaking on July 17 at a forum to promote environmental collaboration, Mr Masagos said: “At stake is nothing less than the physical preservation of our island nation and its inhabitants.” He also announced the setting up of a Climate Science Research Programme Office under the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS).  The CCRS will set aside S$10 million in funding over the next five years for the National Sea Level Research Programme.

In the Mediacorp survey, which was representative of Singapore’s general population by age, gender and ethnicity, 68 per cent of respondents aged between 18 and 24 “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that Singapore’s current infrastructure is able to withstand the impact of climate change. The rest (32 per cent) “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed”.

Among those who are between 25 and 34 years old, 74 per cent expressed belief that the country’s current infrastructure is adequate, with the rest indicating otherwise.

The proportion of respondents in the other age groups who believed that Singapore's current infrastructure can withstand the impact of climate change was between 61 per cent and 71 per cent.  

For the younger respondents — those aged between 18 and 24 as well as between 25 and 34 — the vast majority (about 95 per cent) “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the Government must do more to minimise the impact of climate change. This was in line with the proportion among the older respondents. 

Among the respondents who are between 18 and 24 years old, 88 per cent “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that they will do their part for the environment. This was slightly lower compared to those aged between 25 and 34 (91 per cent), as well as those in the other age groups (between 91 and 96 per cent).

Likewise, the proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds who were concerned about the consequences of global warming (91 per cent) was marginally lower than those between 25 and 34 years old (94 per cent) and those in the other age groups (between 95 and 96 per cent). 

In comparison to the other age groups, a lower proportion of the younger respondents (73 per cent of those aged 18 to 24; 79 per cent of those aged 25 to 34) indicated that they were aware of the Government’s efforts on this front. The proportion was between 82 and 84 per cent for the respondents in the other age groups. 

IMPACT AND MEASURES TAKEN

On the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) website, it is stated that climate change affects Singapore's annual mean surface temperature, which has risen from 26.8°C in 1948 to 27.6°C in 2011. The daily rainfall totals and frequency of days with heavier rainfall have also risen.

Besides that, the mean sea level has increased 3mm a year over the last 15 years.

“This makes adaption measures a necessity for Singapore to prepare for the effects and to increase resilience to the effects of climate change,” NCCS said, adding that Singapore has “started making early preparations to adapt to the impact of climate change”.

Apart from reducing carbon emissions, the series of measures include enhancing knowledge and expertise, coastal protection, water resource management, as well as drainage and flood prevention.

For example, to cater for long-term sea-level rise, the minimum land reclamation level in Singapore was raised from 3m to 4m above the mean sea level in 2011. Walls and stone embankments have also been constructed to cover 70 to 80 per cent of the island's coastline.

A 'TERRIFYING' PROBLEM

Young Singaporeans interviewed by TODAY — and who were not part of the Mediacorp survey — said that they were concerned about the impact of climate change, with most of them attributing it to the awareness generated by friends or influencers on social media.

Miss Goh Pei Jin, a 20-year-old digital marketing specialist, noted that social media influencers constantly draw attention to the topic.

Describing social media as a “big catalyst” in raising awareness, full-time national serviceman Darren Chua, 21, said: “A lot of friends I know are either helping to protect the environment or following pages aiming to do that – from raising awareness, to activism, to promoting lifestyle changes like buying secondhand clothes.”

The young Singaporeans noted that their generation and their offspring would bear the brunt of the consequences decades from now.

Miss Nicolette Shruthy Robert Michael, a 19-year-old student at Lasalle College of the Arts, said that although she and her friends sometimes joked that they would never bear children on a “dying planet”, the reality facing future generations was “quite terrifying”.

Some, such as Mr Drake Law, described young people as being “angry” that they would be left to deal with the effects of the choices made by earlier generations.

“If we don’t step up and make changes, it will be us and our kids who are going to suffer,” the 22-year-old buying assistant said.

On their part, the youths said that they are actively engaging in efforts to combat climate change, but several felt that more could be done by corporations and the Government.

Those interviewed said that they make efforts, for example, to take part in beach clean-ups, buy reusable bags and borrow instead of buy books.

Mr Vignaraaj Chantherakumar, 28, is among those who help out during beach clean-ups. He observed that young people are engaging in these efforts because they feel that they have to take matters into their own hands or they could potentially bear the brunt of the impact of climate change.

Still, several interviewees acknowledged that individual action has limited impact. Mr Chua, for example, said that the public has to pressure businesses to adopt more sustainable practices.

Many also said that the Government could do more to inform the public about its efforts to tackle climate change, in order to drive home the urgency of the issue.

Mr Law said: “I have been unable to convince my parents that climate change is real, and I believe that if the Government tries harder to inform the public, older generations will be more aware and be more likely to believe that there is a problem as well.” 

Miss Nicolette Shruthy noted that the Government has been encouraging Singaporeans to go green, but she felt that the messages need to be refreshed.

Ms Melissa Low, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Energy Studies Institute, sees that there is a need for the Government to engage youths more on climate change issues — given their keen interest and passion.

For instance, the Government could be more open about the trade-offs involved in its decisions which affect the environment, she suggested.

Ms Low, who volunteers with the National Youth Council, said: “Young people have a lot of questions (about the environment) and they don’t have many people who can answer these questions for them. It’s about making sense of these complexities about what the Government is doing.”

Fund climate change measures from current taxes and reserves, say S’pore youths polled
LOW YOUJIN Today Online 7 Aug 19;

SINGAPORE — When it comes to the billion dollar question of how to pay for Singapore's efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change, the country’s youths are saying the money should be channelled from current taxes or the national reserves. 

Amid ongoing debates around the world on “intergenerational justice” with regards to funding climate change measures, an online survey conducted last month by Mediacorp has found that young Singaporeans and permanent residents here are split between getting the present generation to directly foot the bill via taxes, and tapping the reserves which have been described by government leaders and experts as Singapore’s "precious nest egg". 

Conducted between July 20 and 24, the online survey polled 1,002 Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 18 and above on their views about climate change and the Government’s actions on the issue.

Among other questions, the survey asked respondents to choose which source of funding should Singapore use to fund climate change measures: National reserves, current taxes or taxes on future generations.

The result? Those aged between 18 and 34 were split between “national reserves” (42 per cent) and “current taxes” (41 per cent).  About 18 per cent chose “taxes on future generations”. 

In comparison, there was a clear preference among older respondents in the other age groups for “national reserves” (between 43 and 54 per cent) over “current taxes” (between 31 and 38 per cent) and “taxes on future generations” (between 10 and 20 per cent). 

Prior to the survey, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said in a speech last month that climate change is a “pressing priority and an existential challenge”.

He also announced that a new Climate Science Research Programme Office — under the auspices of the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) — will be created to shore up capabilities in climate science here. The CCRS will set aside S$10 million in funding over the next five years for the National Sea Level Research Programme.

In this year’s Budget statement in February, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat — who is now also the Deputy Prime Minister — flagged that the Government will be investing more “to protect Singapore against climate change and rising sea levels”.

Stressing the urgency for the country to plan for climate change beyond the next decade, Mr Heng said: “Together with existing infrastructure needs, our total bill for infrastructure will increase significantly.” 

He added: “We will continue to do our best to look forward, develop fiscal plans well in advance, and put in place the right approach to finance such long-lived major infrastructure. Each generation should contribute a fair share.” 

WHAT THE YOUNG SAY

Some youths approached by TODAY — and who were not part of the survey — were not averse to tapping the national reserves to fund climate change mitigation measures, although experts interviewed cautioned against such a move. 

Ms Esther Lee, a 22-year-old geography undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, said she understood what the national reserves — which are accumulated by past and present generations of Singaporeans — are meant for. But she believes that it should be used as ammunition to tackle climate change, given that it is “an imminent disaster”. 

It is not a question about whether it is fair or not that one generation should have to pay for another’s deeds, she said.

She added: “There is no point playing the blame game. Right now, we need to move forward and implement solutions to tackle this issue.” 

Ms Jolyn Seow, 19, a final-year polytechnic student, also believes that the country has to do whatever it takes, and use whatever resources it can muster.

She said: “If one (generation) does wrong, it’s up to the next ones to bear the consequences. However, the younger generation can choose to make a difference and (bring about) change (for) the future generations.”

Mr Andrew Wilfred, 33, a public servant, is against using the reserves to fund climate change mitigation efforts. 

While stressing that it is “everybody’s job” at this point in time, he said: “I don’t think the national reserves should be used to fight climate change unless there is a concerted global strategy in place to combat it.”

Instead, he suggested setting aside some money from Singapore’s annual budget. “This makes more sense as it’s more sustainable in the long term, and leaves the country with enough money as a capital buffer against catastrophic conditions,” he said. 

Mr Peter Tan, a 32-year-old insurance agent, is also against the use of the reserves. He noted that the carbon tax is another form of current tax which the Government could use.

“The taxes received can in turn be directed to investment in carbon reduction initiatives,” he said.

The Government had previously said that the carbon tax is meant to encourage reductions “where it makes the most economic sense”.

Senior economist Irvin Seah from DBS bank noted that the rates for the carbon tax are “quite low” now, and he does not discount the possibility that they will rise in the future.

It was previously announced that from this year to 2023, the carbon tax for large carbon-emitters that produce 25,000 tonnes or more of greenhouse gas emissions a year will initially be pegged at S$5 per tonne. 

The plan is to increase it to between S$10 and S$15 per tonne of emissions by 2030, and then there will be a review of the rate that same year.

Mr Seah noted that “the biggest polluters are the corporations, rather than individuals”. "If you were to impose a tax on consumers, then only consumers bear the burden, which is not fair,” he said.

With the carbon tax, he said that individuals will also pay their share, but it will be through the transfer of pricing from businesses to individuals. “So everyone does pay a bit,” he said. 

INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE

Writing for the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), Dr Fabian Schuppert, a post-doctoral researcher and research associate at the University of Zurich's Centre for Ethics, noted that climate change raises certain ethical issues, such as the concept of “intergenerational justice”.

This refers to the idea that present generations have certain duties towards the future generations.

Climate change also raises the question of which risks people living today are allowed to impose on future generations.

All these can affect the way policies are made, for example, in the choice of funding to be used to counter climate change.

In the Singapore context, using the national reserves for such a purpose would effectively mean that past and present generations would be funding the efforts.

To use current taxes would mean that taxpayers now would directly finance projects aimed at mitigating climate change. 

There could also be the option of recouping the money from future generations. 

Speaking to TODAY, economist Song Seng Wun from CIMB Private Banking disagreed with the notion that the older generation should be responsible for “fixing” the problems contributing to climate change.

He added: “Conceptually… the past generation had contributed to (the reserves) to be used by the present generation. Similarly, we (the present generation) will contribute to (the reserves) for the use of future generations." 

Mr Seah reiterated that the reserves “are not meant to be used as an expense item”.

“It's meant to generate income in the form of the NIRC (Net Investment Returns Contribution), which is the largest source of revenue for Singapore's overall fiscal position,” he pointed out. He added: “If we tap on these reserves too easily, the temptation is to tap more going forward. This is almost like tapping on your principal amount in terms of investment… (and) your returns obviously will fall.”

Agreeing, Mr Song suggested that instead of tapping the reserves, the income generated from the national coffers could be channelled to fund projects to tackle climate change.

The reserves should be safeguarded for a rainy day, such as in the event of any emergency, he stressed. And such an emergency could very well be caused by climate change.  

He said: “If all the ice melts in Greenland (suddenly), it could add (several) metres to the sea level. Can you imagine what that would do to Singapore?”

More than 9 in 10 in Singapore concerned by climate change; most agree to use of taxes to fight impact: Mediacorp survey
Aqil Haziq Mahmud Channel NewsAsia 7 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE: More than 9 in 10 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PR) said they are concerned by climate change and will do their part to minimise its impact, findings from a Mediacorp survey showed on Wednesday (Aug 7).

According to the findings, 96 per cent of respondents also either “agree” or “strongly agree” that the Government must do more to minimise the impact of climate change.

About 1,000 individuals aged 18 and older took part in the self-administered online survey aimed at understanding public perception of climate change in Singapore and the Government’s actions towards it.

The survey, conducted between Jul 20 and 24, comes after Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said that Singapore has a “pressing priority” to tackle climate change and warned that “time is running out”.

READ: ‘Time is running out’: Tackling climate change a priority for Singapore, says Masagos
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According to a January 2019 Ecosperity Conversations report by Temasek, Singapore is “particularly vulnerable” to the negative impact of climate change and rising sea level.

“The warning is loud and unmistakable: We must act now or we may well face the ultimate threat to human survival ... the end of ‘life as usual’,” Mr Masagos said.

He also announced that Singapore will up set up a new office to strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in climate science, and spend an additional S$400 million to upgrade and maintain drains over the next two years.

The country has also launched its first seed bank to protect local and regional plant diversity against threats like climate change.

READ: Singapore to spend S$400 million upgrading, maintaining drains over two years
When it comes to funding efforts to tackle climate change, just over half (53 per cent) of the survey respondents indicated that efforts to tackle the issue should be funded by current or future taxes.

Forty-seven per cent of respondents said the Government should fund these efforts by dipping into the national reserves.

YOUNGER PEOPLE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE?

The survey did not find any significant differences in climate change perceptions across age, gender, ethnicity, education level or monthly personal income.

For example, in response to the statement “I am concerned about the impact of climate change on Singapore”, 91 per cent of the 112 respondents making up the youngest age group (18 to 24) said they “agree” or “strongly agree”.

Ninety-five per cent of the 170 respondents making up the oldest age group (above 65) gave a similar response.

READ: Singapore opens first seed bank to protect regional plant diversity against climate change
Eighty-eight per cent of respondents in the youngest age group agreed with “I will do my part to minimise the impact of climate change”, compared to 94 per cent of the oldest age group.

Meanwhile, the survey also found that respondents aged 65 and older, as well as those without a monthly personal income, are less likely to suggest that future generations be taxed to fund efforts against climate change. Instead, they pointed to the use of national reserves.

Source: CNA/hz