How to get involved in climate action for Singapore

Related article : “How to stop freaking out and tackle climate change” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/opinion/sunday/how-to-help-climate-change.html

In any complex collective action problem there are four stages in the problem solving process — 1) defining the problem, 2) research the technology solution options, 3) policies that implement those solutions and 4) the politics to decide on the policies. Thanks to the IPCC and many scientists and engineers around the world, most of the work is complete for 1) and 2), and we have many good examples to draw from economists and policy researchers in the EU, US and other countries for 3). For Singapore, there is some touch-up work to do to apply the work of others to Singapore context 3) (The Green New Deal). What remains then as the big challenge is 4) to mobilize a coalition to achieve the political will for change.

This article is organized into 3 sections:

• The case for climate action
• Organizations pushing for systemic climate action
• In-demand roles and skills for getting involved

The case for climate action in Singapore

The world is falling behind on climate action. In December, scientists in a report by the UN warned that must reduce emissions by 7.6% per year from 2020 until 2030 to avert catastrophe, stabilize the climate to <1.5C of warming. Singapore’s current policy gaps are incompatible with a global warming of < 1.5C. The IPCC report of 2018 calls on governments around the world to reduce emissions by -45% by 2030, net zero by 2050 and to peak immediately.

There are a number of gaps which have been analyzed in detail in an earlier article. Three policy gaps in particular related to combat the crisis

Policy gap improvement areas for Singapore

1. Updated Nationally Declared Contribution (NDC) pledge to the Paris Agreement in terms of absolute emission that match or beat the scientific targets of -45% by 2030, zero by 2050 and peaking as soon as possible.
2. A decarbonization plan that defines how the scientific targets will be achieved
3. Meaningful carbon pricing in the range of S$55-100/ton which would make many of the technological opportunities relevant to Singapore such as CCUS economically viable

Singapore’s territorial emissions in 2018 is estimated to be approximately 8.1 tons per capita 40% from petrochemicals, 20% from other manufacturing and commercial, 20% from building cooling AC 16% from transport vehicles and 4% from households, hospitals, schools and government buildings. The power grid is 46% of emissions and 95% natural gas. Total carbon footprint including imported emissions depending on the estimate is 20-30 tons/ca in the top 90th percentile in the world. To date emissions per capita have been steady or decreasing in the past 5 year period depending on the estimation and source. The NDC to the Paris Agreement is officially stated to reduce emissions intensity per $ of GDP by -36% from 2005 levels and stabilize by 2030 which is forecasted to result in a net increase in emissions in the short term. This NDC is rated as highly insufficient by 3rd party Climate Action Tracker and consistent with a business-as-usual pathway to catastrophic warming of +3 to 4C warming by 2100. Starting in 2020 the Singapore government has implemented a carbon tax of S$ 5/ton, stated intention to increase rooftop solar capacity to 4% of the grid and pledged to increase 90% of transit journeys on public transport by 2030. To address imported emissions and food security, the Singapore government has also committed to increase local food production to 30% by 2030.

When it comes to taking action on climate change, the best advice is to decide for yourself which aspect you are most passionate about, and how you can best apply your skills and talents to the organizations that are already working on pushing for systemic change.

Who are the organizations pushing for systemic action on climate change in Singapore and how can you get involved?

This short article presents the organizations, and the types of roles and skills currently in demand and how you can get in touch to become more involved.

Organizations pushing for systemic change on climate action policy in Singapore

Active organizations

• SG climate rally
• Climate conversations
• Fossil Free Yale NUS

Upcoming projects

• Singapore Green New Deal

SG climate rally

A grassroots organization that seeks to bring Singapore’s climate action policy into full compliance with a 1.5C warming emissions reduction path. In Sep 2019 in coordination with the global climate strike the organizers held a public rally at Hong Lim Park that attracted more than 1,700 participants and launched their call to action message.

Past events include the inaugural rally in Sep 2019, GreenWatch Election 2020, Activism in Crisis 2020

To ask about joining SGCR, contact them direct from the website https://www.sgclimaterally.com/
Media article : Big turnout at Hong Lim Park — Strait Times

Climate conversations

A registered non-profit organization in Singapore which aims to raise awareness about climate change through talks in small groups. Their strategy is based on the theory of change that social and political will for change is inevitable once active participation has crossed the critical mass of supporters. Support is available to Donate, Volunteer, Host a conversation and some limited full-time roles. Volunteer roles are available for conversation Facilitators, Hosts, and other roles.

Website : https://climateconversations.sg/

Fossil Free Yale NUS

NUS On-campus group targeting the endowment fund to divest from fossil fuels.

Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/fossilfreeync/

Singapore Green New Deal

The Green New Deal project is an open collaboration research project for this who are interested in research on policy solutions for businesses and governments. Roles are available for Social media, grassroots organizer, and researcher. Relevant disciplines span a wide range such as Sociology, Economics, Public Policy, Renewables, Petrochemicals, Circular Manufacturing, Environment and Ecology, Sustainable Agriculture.

Get involved

In-demand roles and skills for getting involved

• Mentor / Volunteer organizer
• Creative arts — music, video, etc..
• Marketing and social media
• Educator — lecturing, developing course curriculum
• Data science
• Web developer
• Research Scientist
• Engineer

Mentor / Volunteer organizer

Organizing volunteers takes a special combination of skills not usually taught in schools. The mentor provides leadership and organizational skills that ensure that the passion is translated into results. Mentors know how to lead by example, and attune to the needs of the group and suggest and initiate solutions. Mentors inject creativity and energy to inspire new projects and direction. Individuals should have prior leadership experience and work well with minimal supervision, know how to set deadlines and deliverables and break-up ill-defined problems into actionable projects and tasks. Mentors also know how to cultivate relationships, promote values and a unique team identity through team building activities and practices. Mentors also understand how to detect and repair problems that arise in internal team conflicts, recruitment and attrition. They facilitate team decisions and help to build consensus so that the team moves efficiently towards action. Good mentors also know how to groom new leaders and move on when the team has matured in autonomy and is thriving.

campaigns— SG Climate Rally

Creative arts — music, video, etc..

The arts and creative media help to inspire and communicate new narratives and vision for the future. Artists and entertainers help to spread new ideas and motivate people into action which is key to building a successful coalition to change the status quo. Projects for creative artists include adapting mass communication messages into art form through a range of online and other media platforms.

campaigns— SG Climate Rally

Marketing and social media

Campaigns engage the public to learn new information and motivate them into action. The role of the marketing specialists goes beyond just creating the media, but also designing the campaign, outreach startegy, target audience and intended calls to action. The marketing manager should be able to interpret feedback data from various sources and understand how to apply that into campaigns for maximum public reach and impact.

campaigns — SG Climate Rally, Fossil Free Yale NUS

Educator s— lecturing, developing course curriculum

Research has shown that ambition for climate action improves as an individual becomes more literate on the facts of climate change and decarbonization solutions. There are multiple roles available for Educators both to facilitate talks (lecturing) part time, developing curriculum or creating educational materials such as quizzes, workshops, and online course materials. Educators need not have much prior expertise in the disciplines since most of the materials relevant for climate action have already been developed.

Relevant — SG Climate Rally, Climate Conversations

Data science

Data scientists help improve the efficiency and intelligence of any organization which is making good use of data. Volunteer campaigns often do not invest the time into building their data program and they could use help from more experienced engineers and scientists. How do we drive conversion? Are we getting the most reach from our campaigns? What are the main issues and concerns from our constituents and how could we close those gaps? Data scientists with strong mathematical skills can also be helpful in developing models that can be applied to decarbonization and policy comparison analysis.

campaigns — SG Climate Rally, Singapore Green New Deal

Web developer

In today’s digital age people get a lot of their information online. Politics in Singapore is shaping out in a similar direction and having an effective web presence helps to improve reach and engagement. Telling a story as complex as the climate crisis and also customized to an individual’s personal needs is a dynamic, adaptive problem and something that UX/UI skills knows how to tackle. Websites also help to build platforms for sharing work collectively across borders and crowdsource for skills from volunteers that might not otherwise be available.

campaigns — SG Climate Rally, Singapore Green New Deal

Research Scientists and Engineers

Making good decisions for policy depends on knowing the best choices. Part time researchers can help by putting together “shovel-ready” solutions and publishing in open source so that they can reach the widest possible audience and address the open learning knowledge gaps. Expertise areas spans a wide range of disciplines in STEM fields — Economics, Behavioral Science, Renewable Energy, Petrochemicals, Circular Manufacturing, Life Cycle Analysis, Sustainable Agriculture, Environment/Ecology and many others..

campaigns— Singapore Green New Deal