The Common good

by Anthony Yu (22S07B), Hilman Faiz Bin Mohamed Nurfit (23S05A), Chan Tze Yeong (23A01F)

With climate change being one of the most immediate and pressing concerns facing humanity as a whole right now, the global scale of such a threat calls for countries to put aside political differences to cooperate and overcome this problem. Collaboration is also necessary as the globalised nature of the modern world means countries must reconfigure not only their own economies but how their relations to those of their allies and neighbors.

Singapore and New Zealand’s governments have stepped up to this call, as on Tuesday (19 April), PM Lee announced the introduction of a new pillar to the pre-existing Singapore-New Zealand Enhanced Partnership emphasising climate change and green economy. The announcement took place after New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern had come to visit Mr Lee for talks at the Istana just a few days prior.

The international collaboration exemplifies how efforts to build a green economy benefits Singapore. Firstly, collaboration between the two countries on the research, production and deployment of hydrogen as a fuel source will create jobs for Singaporeans. This effectively mobilises Singapore’s labour force so that less Singaporeans are out of jobs meaning the economy becomes more productively efficient. Initiatives in energy transition technology, carbon markets, sustainable transport and waste management will also have similar benefits to the economy.

Food research between the two on urban growing systems – such as Singapore’s vertical farming projects – will help us more quickly find better ways of growing our own food as we learn from each other via information exchange. This then allows us to reduce reliance on imported foods which may have a high carbon footprint due to lax regulations, letting us opt instead for sustainably grown local foods. Self-reliance for food is in itself a political benefit as it means Singapore is less dependent on other countries for its survival.

Lowered emissions goals will also have the overall impact of mitigating our impacts on the climate which in turn reduces the negative externalities of our economic activity. This is especially the case for New Zealand and Singapore being close trading partners wherein much of New Zealand’s imports and exports pass through our ports.