>>> It would cost S$100 billion to protect Singapore from rising sea levels.
I sat up when Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the National Day Rally 2019 that it could cost Singapore S$100 billion or more over 100 years, to protect Singapore from rising sea levels.
In my mind, I was thinking;
“OH NO, would I end up drowning in the elevated sea level if we are not able to contain the damage made by climate pollution?”
To admit, I did not think further until our mainstream news started to create more public awareness with regular articles on the Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) topic.
That was when I realised that this impact is REAL.
What is ESG?
ESG means Environmental, Social and Governance, where specific and measurable criteria are set in the following areas:
- Environmental: focus is on protecting our environment. Focus areas include climate change, pollution, carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Social: focus is on human interdependencies and human relationships. Focus areas include gender diversity and mental health.
- Governance: focus is on the governance processes to run an organization. Focus areas include board composition and hiring practices.
The ESG topic is very broad. My focus in this article is on the Environmental aspect of ESG that is close to my heart and in my view, the most impactful on the survival of our Earth.
There are 2 lenses to the Environmental aspect of ESG. They are:
- Personal sustainability responsibility; and
- Corporate sustainability responsibility.
Below discusses Personal Sustainability Responsibility.
Corporate Sustainability Responsibility would be discussed in another article. Look out for it!
Personal Sustainability Responsibility
Let’s zoom in to our daily food consumption, transport and use of electricity at home.
- Food
>>> Food waste takes up about 12% of total waste in Singapore1.
Being a net importer of food, Singapore faces food supply issues from time to time when exporting countries impose measures to restrict their food exports to protect their local market. For example, the recent Malaysia’s measure to stop exports of fresh broiler chicken temporarily (from 1 June 2022) disrupted the supply of fresh chickens and our beloved Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore.
Elsewhere in ASEAN, Thailand is facing major challenges in rice production due to climate change, with unpredictable weather of rains and droughts. Thailand ranked 9th in the list of countries most affected by extreme weather events from 2000 to 20192.
Thailand is one of the key sources of rice supply to Singapore. While Singapore is able to diversify our import of rice (we also source from Vietnam and India), being highly dependent on imports is a risk in itself. Should our exporter countries of rice be hit with climate change events at the same time, we could face severe rice shortage.
Climate change issues affecting food production are real and may worsen. Hence, we have an urgent need to do our part not to waste food on our plates. We should strive to use the entire ingredient as much as possible for cooking or baking so as to minimize food wastage.
- Transport
>>> An electric vehicle emits ½ the CO2 amount compared to a similar motor vehicle3.
Our vehicles on the road emit carbon dioxide (“CO2”) into the air. The CO2 causes Earth to warm up when heat is trapped from the sun. This, together with other activities that cause emission of CO2 into the atmosphere, results in the rise of Earth’s temperature. Sea levels rise up when glaciers in Antarctic and Greenland melt into the sea due to the increase in Earth’s temperature.
Singapore is particularly in danger of being submerged by the rising sea level. We need to do our part, in every small or big way, to reduce CO2 emission into the air.
One way we could enforce our Personal Sustainability Responsibility is to opt for public transport instead of driving to work, thereby reducing CO2 emission.
For those who drive, how about considering switching to an electric vehicle that operates on an electric motor, instead of a motor vehicle whose internal combustion engine uses petrol?
- Electricity
>>> A fan uses less than 1/10th the electricity of an air-conditioner4.
In Singapore, our electricity is generated from natural gas. Natural gas as a fossil fuel is burned to create the electricity. CO2 is emitted as a result of this action. Nevertheless, natural gas is generally known as cleaner fossil fuel than coal.
We live in a hot climate in Singapore and we tend to work at home more often these days as part of the hybrid work arrangement. Hence, we are more inclined to use the air-con for a more pleasant working experience.
If it is difficult to switch from air-con to fan, you can consider switching off the air-con after a while and let your fan take over to circulate the cold air generated.
>>> Standby power accounts for up to 10% of your home electricity use4.
We could also switch off our home electrical appliances when they are not in use. This would cut off the standby power to reduce our use of electricity.
In conclusion;
Let us all contribute to sustainable practices as our way of life, whether big or small, to save our planet Earth!
Footnotes
1/ Data is obtained from the National Environment Agency website at www.nea.gov.sg, Section: Food Waste Management.
2/ Data is obtained from the Germanwatch website at www.germanwatch.org, Section: Global Climate Risk Index 2021.
3/ Data is obtained from the Land Transport Authority website at www.lta.gov.sg, Section: Our EV Vision.
4/ Data is obtained from the Clean & Green Singapore website at www.cgs.gov.sg, Section: NEA’s Go Green Tips.
