What does climate justice mean to you?
Dear friend,
We talk a lot about climate justice and what we think it stands for. For instance, some people have asked us why we post about the conflict in Gaza when we’re a climate group. That’s because we believe fighting for climate justice entails fighting for marginalised groups who bear the brunt of impacts they did not cause. Innocent Palestinian civilians are suffering under prolonged attacks by Israel. The humanitarian and climate impacts of such attacks are immense, and so we have called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
But we understand the reasoning behind such questions. And so we invite you, dear reader, to think about what it means to you. Is there something you think climate activists should pay more attention to? Are there issues you are passionate about, and think there’s a climate angle to explore? Even more fundamentally, what does your idea of ‘justice’ look like in a world faced with the existential threat of climate change?
It’s okay if you don’t have the answers–we don’t have all of them too! If you have ideas and would like to explore, feel free to reach out to us at sg.climaterally@gmail.com or message us on Instagram, and we can work together for climate justice–whatever it means to you.
For a better world,
SG Climate Rally
On the latest episode of our Climate Kopitiam podcast, hosts Isaac and Sammie chat about degrowth with our guest Yong Feng, a Masters student at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and SGCR member. In this 40-minute conversation, they give an introduction to degrowth’s key critiques of economic growth in terms of social and environmental aspects, before exploring policies and ground-up initiatives that may bring us closer to a degrowth future, and bring in degrowth in Singapore’s context. They also chat about how degrowth is linked to climate justice, and more! Listen to it on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Intrigued by the cover art? See the episode description for the explanation 😉
Global News
🥵To no one’s surprise, 2023 was crowned the hottest on record, with average temperatures rising to 1.48 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Nearly half the year exceeded the 1.5 deg C target under the Paris Agreement. With El Nino reaching its peak later this year, 2024 is set to beat 2023’s record. The world will have to spend much more than the US$1.8 trillion it spent on the clean-energy transition to combat the rising temperatures–more than twice, in fact, according to BloombergNEF. An estimated US$4.8 trillion is needed annually from 2024 to 2030 for the world to be on track for net-zero emissions by 2050.
✅The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (Iesba), a global ethics standards body, will propose a new ethics code for auditing sustainability disclosures from companies to combat greenwashing. This will outline best practices for verifying sustainability claims by detailing instructions in areas such as accounting for the impact of corporate actions on emissions, relying on outside experts, and identifying and tackling conflicts of interest.
🥣Two climate protesters flung pumpkin soup against the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum in Paris, and called for changes in the agricultural system. A group called Riposte Alimentaire (“Food counterattack” in French) claimed responsibility, saying they were demanding for more sustainable food by subsidising selecting food items. According to an Ipsos survey last year, one in three French people cannot afford healthy food for three meals a day. French farmers have also been protesting for better pay, taxes, and regulations in recent weeks. The Mona Lisa, which sits behind bulletproof glass, remained undamaged.
Local News
🇸🇬Singapore’s third National Climate Change Study was released on 5 January. Among the key findings were updated projections for sea level rises of up to 1.15m by 2100, average temperatures rising by up to 5 degrees Celsius by 2100, and more extreme weather. The projections were based on three greenhouse gas emission scenarios from Low to High. Scientists noted that warmer and more humid nights by the end of the century would impact vulnerable groups with little access to cooling measures such as migrant workers in non-air-conditioned dormitories. Stay tuned for our upcoming post on this topic!
🏝️Reclamation works are planned on the eastern part of Pulau Sudong to upgrade the existing runway for military aircraft. This could lead to the loss of marine habitats and 2ha of coral reefs (1.8% of Singapore’s overall coral reef cover). Authorities will help to relocate rare and vulnerable species, and carry out habitat restoration works once the reclamation is completed by 2028. The intertidal habitats contain several vulnerable or rare marine species, and prior research on the coral reefs suggests that the reefs are home to high biodiversity as well.
🪫A new 600W capacity hydrogen-ready combined cycle gas turbine will be built by the end of 2027 at the current Pulau Seraya Power Station on Jurong Island. It will initially have the capacity to use up to 30 per cent hydrogen and 70 per cent fossil fuels for electricity generation, but can be retrofitted to be fully hydrogen-ready in the future. The turbine can power 864,000 four-room flats for a year.
🛍️In the past half a year since the 5-cent disposable carrier bag charge was introduced, a 50-80 per cent drop in plastic bag use has been observed, according to Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu. The supermarket chains have indicated they will use the bag charge proceeds to support environmental or social causes, though no further details have been reported yet.
🧑🌾The Mekong Delta running down peninsular Southeast Asia from the Tibetan Plateau is the source of livelihoods for many communities along the river. The impacts of climate change and unsustainable development threaten that. In Vietnam, the Delta is known as their ‘food bowl’; however, coastline erosion due to droughts and saltwater intrusion due to rising sea levels are threatening farmers’ crops and fishermen’s catches. Watch this CNA video to see for yourself:
🕵️Newly unearthed documents by a researcher at the Climate Investigations Center show that the fossil fuel industry funded a group that measured CO2 levels across the western US in 1954, and uncovered the potential impact of manmade CO2 emissions on the atmosphere, which led to the further development of climate science. Experts say this shows the fossil fuel industry was intimately involved in the development of climate science from the start, and have misled the public and regulators all this time. See the findings here.
🌾✅GreenCheck is collaborating with @ayeppol in an art fundraiser! Get Studio Ghibli-inspired postcard-size prints, featuring two of our community’s beloved nature spaces in SG. Put them on your wall for decoration, write on them and send them to long distance friends, or just keep them for yourself! 🤭
Funds raised will go directly to community-led climate action groups in Southeast Asia & Latin America! 🌏
They’re one for SGD5 and two for SGD8 — place your orders here before 7 Feb 2024: tinyurl.com/GreenCheckArtAye! 🌱
🚛Our friends Migrant Mutual Aid have launched the Unsafety in Numbers campaign, a collective effort to raise awareness about the unsafe transportation of migrant workers in the back of lorry cargo bays by reimagining the ‘pax’ stickers on these lorries. Sign up for a decal on their website and help them to amplify their campaign now!
