During an hour-long ministerial forum with students of the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) on 4 September, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong answered several questions from the audience.
Videos of the premier’s answers were uploaded into a playlist on the Prime Minister’s Office Youtube Channel.
Having talked about Singapore’s progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, PM Lee reiterated that climate change specifically is a global problem, the solution to which requires that other countries also contribute.
“If other countries don’t do their part and reduce CO2 emissions and slow down the global warming and slow down sea-level rise, it endangers all countries,” says PM Lee.
Even so, he explained that it’s not possible to force other countries to do what we want them to do. All Singapore can do is play its own part, and in doing so, that gives us the “moral standing” to urge other nations to follow suit.
“All we can do is our share, and because we are doing our share…we have the moral standing to say “I’m doing my part, please do your part”,” he said.
But even then if other countries do not do what is necessary, PM Lee says that means Singapore will have to prepare for the impacts of global warming.
“I must spend, if need be, S$100 billion over 100 years, if need be more than that in order to make sure that if the sea levels rise, Singapore does not become a smaller island.”
“We can afford the money and we will make our plans carefully, we make sure that the money is well spent. But we have to protect ourselves,” he added later.
The PM also noted that both right- and left-wing governments around the world are facing pressures from their own citizens on this issue, where there are many who find it difficult to consider the long term, focusing instead on the here and how.
“I need land to plant new crops. I need money, so I’m mining coal and selling to other countries. I have oil, I’m not very good at doing anything else very much and therefore I’m taking the oil out of the ground and I’m going to sell the oil to people who burn it and put CO2 in the atmosphere.”
These are pressure which government cannot easily ignore, PM Lee asserted.
“It’s money for jam. And the government which wants to be green is kicked out and somebody else comes in and he despoils the planet.”
The PM then noted that the Paris Accord was the first step in countries coming together to address this issue, noting that while it may not be enough, it is a step in the right direction.
“Other steps will have to be taken later on but this is the first step and everybody is signed up. So if we don’t do our part, we are not a good global citizen. And whether you are big or small, if you don’t do your part, you are not a good global citizen. And we hope that has some impact.
The world is an imperfect way and that’s the way difficult problems can be solved or at least tackled with partial solutions.”

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

All the President’s Men – Taking a closer look at the Council of Presidential Advisers

by: Bhavan Jaipragas/ When the next President of the Republic is sworn…

MAS: COVID-19 will harm wages more than jobs; layoffs risk highest in retail, F&B, recreation sectors

According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday (28 April),…

Resorts World Sentosa retrenches staff amid impact from COVID-19 pandemic

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) will lay off its employees as part of…

【冠状病毒19】政府逐步允许返回公司工作 中央商务区职员不见增

虽然我国正在逐步解封,允许更多人回到职场上,但是今早(9月28日)在中央商务区,并没见到很多赶着上班的人群。 据《海峡时报》指出,莱佛士坊在今早9时的高峰时段,一群职场人员缓缓而有序地从地铁站朝工作地点前进,而人数似乎和上周五一样。 据《海时》采访的20名人士指出,今天并非他们自6月初的阻断措施法令后首次重返职场,相反地,他们已经回到工作场所一段时日了。 卫生部长颜金勇于上周三(9月23日)的新闻发布会上指出,基于社区冠病的确诊病例维持在少数,因此将会逐步解封,包括允许更多雇员回到工作场所。然而,雇主必须必须采取安全管理措施,并确保弹性的工作时间和错开的报到时间。 此外,雇员必须将工作时间分成一半,其中一半的时段必须居家办公,而且能够居家办公的职员中,有一半以上不能返回办公室。 工作场所内的活动,如研讨会、工作聚会或拓展活动和年度股东大会也可恢复进行,只是外场活动仍然被禁止。 不少员工在受访时都表示,他们自6月份的第二阶段解封时期就开始回到公司了。当被询及较推荐居家办公或回到办公室时,其中一名受访者,46岁的投资公司RF International Holding的首席执行官梁世伟表示自己是两个孩子的父亲,因此比起在家,在公司办公会更有效率。 “但是如果我是单身,且和父母住在一起,就不会有多大区别,但是节省了很多旅行时间。” 他赞扬政府在放缓经济开放方面做得很好,民众对安全距离措施也非常了解。