Resetting the climate agenda for 2020

MAJOR economies resisted calls for bolder climate commitments at the United Nations summit in Madrid last December, aggravating fears that the world will not act in time to stop rising global temperatures disrupting people, economies and ecosystems. Research published during the talks showed that emissions have increased by 4 per cent since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, and cuts of more than 7 per cent a year are required to avoid catastrophic levels of global warming.

The aim of national climate pledges made under the Paris Agreement in 2015 is to limit global warming to well below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, specifically to limit warming to just 1.5 degree Celsius, the target that scientists say is necessary for preventing the worst climate impact on our ecosystem. The Paris Agreement has been weakened by a move by the United States to begin withdrawing from the Agreement. If other big economies fail to agree on more meaningful climate action soon, the slim hopes of averting catastrophic temperature rises will all but evaporate.

Like all small island states, Singapore is vulnerable to the effects of global warming and has called for more collaborative global and regional efforts to address the existential challenge of climate change at a time when multilateralism is strained.