Dear friend,
This past month, SGCR turned five! 🥳
Five years ago, a group of youths, emboldened by a wave of climate strikes across the globe, decided to organise Singapore’s first climate rally. Our journey since then has been eventful–from our first Greenwatch campaign, to holding an online rally during COVID, and our second physical rally last year, where we brought together community groups from different sectors of civil society.
Our movement keeps growing still, and we could not have done this without the dedication of all our volunteers, past and present. A movement is nothing without its people, and the fact that we are still around is proof itself that people will turn out for climate justice, and so we forge on to bring the voices of marginalised communities affected by climate change to the forefront. As a recent Jom article (which featured us) puts it:
“For a true democracy to prosper, open dialogue and criticism must be at the forefront of public debate. In the face of ever-shrinking spaces for public discussion, these grassroots initiatives are an invitation for citizens to reconsider how often they engage with politics, in what manner, and how they can be part of the political conversation beyond a perfunctory tick on the ballot once every five years.”
Thank you for sticking around, and as always, let’s keep fighting for a better world.
SG Climate Rally
We joined millions around the globe from 13-20 September during the Global Week of Action for Climate Finance & A Fossil-Free Future, to demand climate justice from policymakers and polluters. One of the key demands was for demilitarisation–do we really need billions pumped into military investments, or can we channel that money into better uses? This is especially pertinent given that the military base at Pulau Sudong will be expanded further through land reclamation, which could result in the loss of 20,000sqm of coral reefs and 14,600sqm of mangrove forests. And what of the climate impact of genocide in Gaza? Check out our latest post with Singapore Youth for Peace (@youthforpeace.sg) where we delve into this topic.
Also with Youth For Peace, we recorded a podcast episode talking about their activism efforts, and why youths should care about the Palestinian struggle.
Check out the first of two episodes on Spotify!
Global News
🤔Azerbaijan, the host of COP29, unveiled an action plan and agenda for the event, which will be held from 11-22 November. Notably, it lacks any mention of the phasing out of fossil fuels, as well as progress on a loss and damage fund, where negotiations remain deadlocked. Instead, Azerbaijan has proposed a series of voluntary "side initiatives" that do not require party negotiations, such as a $1 billion climate action fund to be financed by fossil fuel producing countries and companies, creating a global clean hydrogen market, and a “COP Truce” to halt conflicts during the summit. There is concern that Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency, led by an oil industry veteran, is not ambitious enough and is just engaging in greenwashing.
🛢️Student-led analyses have found that six prestigious U.S. universities, including Princeton, Columbia, and Cornell, have collectively accepted over $100 million in fossil fuel industry-tied funding from fossil fuel companies and their charitable arms. These were reports written by campus organizers and published by Campus Climate Network, an international student-led coalition that is pushing colleges to cut ties with big oil. In particular, Princeton appears to have owned or still owns a fossil fuel company called Petrotiger, from which it has earned nearly $140 million over the last 10 years. The six schools also published more than 1,500 academic articles funded by oil and gas interests. For a local example, check out this report from Students for a Fossil Free Future (S4F), published in 2022.
Local News
⚡Singapore has granted conditional approvals to two more companies to import a total of 1.4 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia. This comes as Singapore has raised its target for low-carbon electricity imports from 4GW by 2035 to 6GW by 2035, and announced plans to double its electricity imports capacity via a regional grid. However, questions remain over the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore (LTMS) project which constitutes a large part of this grid, with The Straits Times reporting that some energy from Malaysia in the project may come from non-renewable sources.
💰Temasek is setting aside S$100 million to be deployed as concessional capital (defined as a type of capital that is willing to absorb more risks or take a lower return) for climate-related projects, mainly in Asia. This marks the first time Temasek is providing below-market rate financing to support decarbonization efforts. The concessional capital can serve as catalytic funding to mobilize other forms of financing across the broader climate ecosystem, especially to fund marginally bankable projects in emerging markets like Southeast Asia that private finance may be reluctant to take a gamble on.
🌳Residents of Dairy Farm estate along Bukit Timah are protesting the management's plan to cut down four apparently healthy khaya trees in the estate, with more than 250 people signing a petition to save the trees, and some even saying they would sit around the trees to protest the tree-cutting. The dispute stems over a disparity over reports that an arborist assessing the trees submitted, after one tree fell during a storm in June. The arborist initially recommended pruning and monitoring the four trees, however in a revised report, the recommendation was changed to remove the trees. Residents claim the arborist was employed by the same landscaping company managing the estate. They also claim the trees have been there for over 35 years, and are going strong. Power to the residents of Dairy Farm!
🙏It’s been more than a year since villagers on Rempang Island were forcibly displaced from their land for the development of an eco-city. Their struggle continues–if you’d like to help contribute financially, or just volunteer your time to help the villagers, check out this post for more details.
🫨The world’s first ‘climate change-induced earthquake’ shook the earth last year–literally:
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📖As an editorial team, we feel strongly about climate storytelling (even though we may not always have the time to fully commit to it, as we are all volunteers!). This article by Rolling Stone on how climate stories can be told in engaging and creative ways, from Creatives for Climate's greenwashing awareness campaign, Daughters for Earth's graphic novels about female environmental leaders, and Grist's climate fiction writing contest, really hits home. Companies can also incorporate climate storytelling into their communications; by combining human-centered narratives with nature-positive business practices, companies can avoid accusations of greenwashing and build stronger connections with consumers. Closer to home, some of our favourites are: