More needs to be done to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 for effective adaptation, say Bertrand Seah, Tim Min Jie, Sarah Ichioka and Wong Pei Chi.
Bertrand Seah, Tim Min Jie, Sarah Ichioka and Wong Pei Chi Channel NewsAsia 27 Jul 19;
SINGAPORE: The commentary “As time runs out on the climate crisis, Singapore prepares to address the cost of adapting” adopts the kind of urgent language appropriate to the climate crisis we are facing now.
It emphasises the importance of adaptation measures, which lower the risks posed by the consequences of climatic changes. One such example is recent measure to build Changi Airport Terminal 5 5.5 metres above mean sea level to deal with rising sea levels.
It is highly disappointing, however, that it downplays the pressing need to adopt more substantial mitigating measures that address root causes, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The commentary notes that the question of mitigation in Singapore has been far simpler and less politically fraught than in other countries, and that Singaporeans have already worked towards more climate-friendly consumption patterns.
This obscures a few important facts about mitigation, unlike what the commentary posits, as the cost of climate change mitigation is very much “inextricably linked to political to political questions of cost, economic restructuring, decline and job losses”.
LOOK AT INDUSTRY’S ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Firstly, the source of much of Singapore’s emissions is not consumers, but industry.
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