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NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 7 Sep 19; SINGAPORE � In a country where most people do not think twice about buying new clothes, Mr Leow Yee Shiang has not bought a single piece of clothing in the past two years. The 31-year-old civil servant practises what he calls a �minimalist lifestyle�. He rarely shops, and has only bought four items for himself this year � a water bottle, socks, lenses for his sunglasses and a motorcycle plate number. What sparked the decision? Mr Leow said it happened early last year when he was packing his belongings for his return to Singapore from Australia, where he had been living with his wife for two years because of work. �I got a bit fed-up as I was packing� There were many boxes. I got so angry at myself that I just started throwing away things,� he recalled. Among some of the items which he threw out included his wedding photo and its frame, as well as the love letters he got from his wife when they were dating. It means that he can now �focus on che...

NG JUN SEN Today Online 3 Sep 19; SINGAPORE � To finance the fight against climate change, smaller-scale infrastructure such as flood barriers can be funded from the Government�s Budget each year, while �long-lived major� infrastructure � including sea walls � could involve borrowing, said Second Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Tuesday (Sept 3). When land reclamation is involved, the costs will come from Singapore�s past reserves and the value of the reclaimed land after it is sold in the future will be fully returned to the reserves, said Mr Wong, who is also the National Development Minister. �The reclamation of land is in essence a conversion of past reserves � from financial assets to state land. This use is not a draw on past reserves,� said Mr Wong, adding that this arrangement is part of the Reserves Protection Framework agreed between the Government and the President, whose constitutional role is to safeguard the national reserves. Mr Wong was answering a parli...

Winning our climate war is a moral and economic imperative. The green lining is that the new climate economy being birthed creates good jobs while saving our world, says CEO of PhilanthropyWorks Vivian Claire Liew. Vivian Claire Liew Channel NewsAsia 1 Sep 19; SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong this National Day Rally publicly acknowledged climate change as an existential threat to Singapore � and aced it. He unflinchingly positioned the threat dead-centre in the Singaporean psyche � and mentioned housing price risks in the East Coast and waterfront areas. Yet, he also managed to sound upbeat and forward-looking. This marks the defining moment for Singapore�s climate war. It is a clarion call for us to understand the climate impact reverberating through our society, economy and geopolitics. Singapore�s Total Defence strategy surely welcomes its missing seventh pillar. WHY WE MUST At �just� 1.1 degrees Celsius increase in warming, climate change will cost millions of lives and h...

KENNETH CHENG Today Online 29 Aug 19; SINGAPORE � Eight in 10 Singaporeans believe that climate change is real and Singapore should put resources into tackling the threat before it is too late, a government feedback exercise has found. The exercise by Reach, the Government�s feedback unit, canvassed responses on the issues raised at the National Day Rally on Aug 18 from more than 5,000 Singaporeans aged between 15 and over-70. The findings were released on Thursday evening (Aug 29) before a closed-door dialogue on the rally chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. Speaking to reporters before the dialogue at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mr Heng noted that the need to tackle the climate threat has resonated, especially with young Singaporeans. �Several of them told me that they have been discussing this a lot in schools as well as in the universities,� Mr Heng said. �They felt it was important for us to tackle long-term challenges, even though these ar...

History shows us how hotter and drier years, coupled with greater exposure to flash floods, haze incidents and water shortages, make climate change a deadly phenomenon to Singapore. Koh Tieh Yong Channel NewsAsia 31 Aug 19; SINGAPORE: During his recent National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted that the defence against climate change must be given as much emphasis as the military defence provided by the Singapore Armed Forces because climate change threatens the existence of our nation in the 21st century. Many Singaporeans who have paid only cursory attention to environmental issues may be surprised by the gravity of this message. Sure, there are the occasional flash floods and yes, we do remember the days when the island was shrouded in haze. But have we come to the point where the climate has turned into such a monstrosity that our city-state has to �go to war� against this gargantuan enemy for generations ahead? Two aspects of the problem help us appreci...

Audrey Tan and Jacklin Kwan Straits Times 29 Aug 19; SINGAPORE - One of Singapore's oldest water treatment plants has been upgraded with state-of-the-art technology, in a move that will boost the Republic's water resilience in the face of climate change. The upgraded Choa Chu Kang Waterworks, which is also more energy- and cost- efficient now, was officially opened by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Thursday morning (Aug 29). The Choa Chu Kang plant treats water from Kranji, Pandan and Tengeh reservoirs before it is delivered to taps in homes, businesses and industry. Climate change may cause the quality of water in Singapore's reservoirs to deteriorate, said Mr Masagos during the event. He pointed to how rising temperatures could result in warmer waters, while intense rainfall could lead to an excessive amount of nutrient runoff being washed into waterways and reservoirs. "These conditions are likely to fuel algae growth in the re...

NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 24 Aug 19; SINGAPORE � A �50- to 100-year problem� was how Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described the �grave threat� of rising sea levels to Singapore. While a hundred years from now seems far away, Singapore has already started to feel the impact of climate change with hotter weather and heavier rainfall in recent years. Studies have also shown that Singapore could experience more extreme weather patterns as soon as 2050. Indeed, steps are already underway to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels. For example, Singapore has introduced a carbon tax to nudge companies to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. It has also begun building infrastructure such as train stations on elevated ground. More measures are in the pipeline. How much time does Singapore have to make sure that it is sufficiently ready? TODAY takes a closer look. HOW WAS THIS TIMEFRAME DERIVED? The 50- to 100-year timeline is based on the findings of a study by the Centre for Climate ...

Even as Singapore strives to adapt to rising sea levels, let�s not win that battle yet end up losing the larger war against climate change, says the Singapore Management University�s Winston Chow. Winston Chow Channel NewsAsia 25 Aug 19; SINGAPORE: Singapore isn�t alone in confronting the consequences of rising seas. Several other coastal cities and small islands also face this hazard, and lessons can be drawn from how they plan for and adapt to it. Recent research shows three general approaches can be considered when dealing with the threat of sea level rise. First, accommodate the threat, which includes flood-proofing existing buildings and infrastructure, or designating areas that would be allowed to flood during high tide. Second, retreat from the threat, which includes the removal and reallocation of key infrastructure and assets to areas that the sea cannot inundate. Third, protection from the threat, which includes planting and managing mangrove coasts, or engineered options li...

NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 22 Aug 19; SINGAPORE � One was so assured that she would encourage her children to live near Singapore�s eastern coastline even 50 to 100 years from now. Another wondered if construction work being done to deal with rising sea levels would block the views from his flat. In getting a quick gauge of how residents living in the eastern part of Singapore think about the future impact of climate change, TODAY found that for some of them, climate change was too far down the road to be a cause for worry. Others were impressed that the environmental issue was finally getting national attention, but all were generally supportive of the measures to counter the problems related to it. In his National Day Rally speech last Sunday (Aug 18), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had addressed the consequences of climate change, calling it a �life and death� matter. He also warned that the areas along the east coast from Changi to the city, as well as Jurong Island, are �more ...