\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE \u2013 On Feb 11, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment\u00a0Janil\u00a0Puthucheary said Singapore <\/p>\n has to rebalance its priorities and put more weight on adapting to climate impacts<\/p>\n <\/a>, as geopolitics has put a damper on efforts to reduce carbon emissions. <\/p>\n In my view, this focus on adaptation is timely for a city-state exposed to climate change impacts such as rising temperatures and sea levels. <\/p>\n His comments come at a time when global efforts to tackle the root cause of climate change \u2013 fossil fuel use \u2013 are coming under attack from political rhetoric and economic concerns, giving rise to fears that climate change impacts will escalate. <\/p>\n The earth has already warmed by around 1.3 deg C since pre-industrial times and locked-in global warming has been driving disasters from powerful cyclones to heatwaves. <\/p>\n Climate threats have been inching closer to Singapore in recent years. From temperatures soaring <\/p>\n to 37 deg C in May 2023<\/p>\n <\/a> and some episodes of coastal flooding when heavy rain coincided with high tides, the Republic has experienced a taste of extreme weather.<\/p>\n Hazy conditions could also become a mainstay in Singapore in a world on fire. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu told Parliament on Feb 12 that climate change <\/p>\n will bring about drier conditions<\/p>\n <\/a> and higher temperatures that could fuel potential wildfires in the region, bringing haze to Singapore. <\/p>\n Both adaptation and mitigation, or cutting emissions, are equally important in the effort to tackle climate change. <\/p>\n If solutions to reduce emissions are the \u201cantidote\u201d for long-term global heating, then adaptation serves as a \u201cvaccine\u201d to protect people and places from harsher consequences of exposure to extreme heat, floods and food crises. <\/p>\n This is especially relevant for Singapore for a few reasons. <\/p>\n First, Singapore, being low-lying and exposed to tropical heat all year, is not sheltered from climate risks. This is something that the private sector is increasingly concerned with. <\/p>\n For example, if companies were to delay installing flood and coastal defences, insurers may impose high premiums, forcing business costs to go up in the long run. <\/p>\n In a recent study, insurance broker Willis Towers Watson found that losses linked to floods in South-east Asia <\/p>\n may grow by as much as 1,000 per cent<\/p>\n <\/a> in the coming years. <\/p>\n Flooding across the region may result in economic losses well above US$10 billion (S$12.68 billion), compared with the US$1 billion to US$2 billion range typical of major regional flood events over the past decade, said the report published in January. <\/p>\n Under <\/p>\n a proposed law tabled in Parliament<\/p>\n <\/a> in early February, government agencies and private companies that occupy\u00a0land\u00a0along Singapore\u2019s shorelines have to implement measures to shield their coastal areas from rising seas, or face a fine and jail term.<\/p>\n Waterfront companies are understandably <\/p>\n concerned about<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n the costs<\/p>\n <\/a> of implementing coastal defences. <\/p>\n Yet, even without such a law, experts have cautioned that if protection measures are not undertaken in advance, insurance premiums will soar, further affecting business costs in the future. <\/p>\n Mr Lee Adam Harryman, head of the Climate Resilience Studio at CPG Consultants, said insurance providers are increasingly factoring flood and coastal risk into their assessments.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cOver time, assets located in high-risk areas may face rising premiums, or more limited insurance options.<\/p>\n \u201cIn many ways, insurance considerations may play the role of a\u00a0quiet driver of climate adaptation, even if indirectly.\u201d <\/p>\n Two, home-grown solutions to prevent coastal floods and heat illnesses can also bring about economic opportunities for the country. <\/p>\n Dr Janil said at the Feb 11 dialogue that even while addressing climate change impacts, there is scope for the country to reap economic value from them, citing Singapore\u2019s work in exporting water technologies.<\/p>\n Two reports released in mid-2025 highlighted the future investment potential of adaptation solutions in the trillions, challenging the notion that reducing climate impacts cannot bring revenue. <\/p>\n One of them, <\/p>\n by global management consultancy BCG and Singapore\u2019s investment firm Temasek,<\/p>\n <\/a> showed that expenditure for climate adaptation and resilience is projected to rise to between\u00a0US$500 billion and US$1.3 trillion a year by 2030.<\/p>\n Hazard warning systems, flood barriers and emergency medical services were among the solutions identified in a new report as having the most investment potential over the next five years. <\/p>\n Experts have previously told The Straits Times that home-grown coastal and flood defences can be exported to vulnerable areas in South-east Asia. <\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s expertise in heat research could also be tapped globally. In 2025, the NUS Heat Resilience and Performance Centre teamed up with Saudi Arabia\u2019s occupational safety and health body to develop strategies to protect workers from increasing heat risks in the kingdom. <\/p>\n Singapore has long valued the importance of climate adaptation. <\/p>\n In 2019, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong\u00a0said in his National Day Rally speech that Singapore\u2019s climate change defences <\/p>\n were as existential for the country as its armed forces<\/p>\n <\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are life\u00a0and\u00a0death matters. Everything else must\u00a0bend\u00a0at the knee to safeguard the existence of our island nation,\u201d he said then.<\/p>\n But one area we could do better in is to help people understand that climate adaptation also requires action on their part. <\/p>\n This bottom-up, community resilience is crucial because climate impacts are uneven and no one should be left behind. Extreme heat, for one, can pose a greater danger to the elderly and those who are bedridden. <\/p>\n