A Dog-leg Year for Climate Action?

By Ken Hickson

Chairman of SASA and Managing Editor of ABC Carbon Express

According to the Chinese calendar, this is the Year of the Dog, but Singapore – and a few other places – has decided that it’s also the Year of Climate Action.

 So taking action doggy-style, could well mean a “dog-leg” turn for the better, climate-wise.

Climate scientists have for some time conceived a “hockey stick graph” to show the rapid rise in global average temperatures from a steady baseline.

 So we propose a “dog-leg graph” and hope for a departure from the normal – the business as usual burning of fossil fuels, for example – and turning to a “new normal” involving a strong move towards clean energy everywhere and a consequent reduction in CO2 emissions.

We talk about a Clean Energy Revolution and maybe this is the year it takes hold.

 Hence a dog leg of climate action in 2018 to come clean - to reverse the world order of rising emissions, rising temperatures and rising sea levels - and get back to sanity, to save the planet and make it possible for life on earth to continue to 2100 and beyond. 

 This doesn’t have a scientific base unfortunately, but it’s my fond hope – based on ten years of observing, reporting and writing on the subject of climate change - that in 2018 we’ll see a marked change. Actions that go beyond the words and commitments to the Paris Agreement, tp real action so we can observe a discernible “cool change”.

 Otherwise things will go from bad to worse. As it is we're on the verge of experiencing Climate Departure – to be experienced first in the tropical regions of Asia – based on the work of University of Hawaii. You can read all about it in an article I wrote last year for ANZA Magazine.

So, to give hope and good news blended with the bad and ugly, I present “action highlights” in the latest issue of my online magazine, ABC Carbon Express, which is about to experience its tenth anniversary (it started in Brisbane, Australia in March 2008).

 Singapore has started the ball rolling by announcing that 2018 will be the Year of Climate Action and its mobilising action among NGOs, businesses, community organisations and environmental groups. As Singapore is the chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, here's hoping its influence will spread throughout region and further afield.

"We feel it is important to raise the level of national consciousness around the need to take individual and collective action to fight climate change," Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said at the launch of Singapore's Year of Climate Action. - Report by Audrey Tan in the Straits Times 27 January 2018. Read More

 Included is a link to a very thoroughly researched article by Melissa Low of the Energy Studies Institute, who’s been actively involved in the climate change debate and actions in recent years: "The designation of 2018 as the Year of Climate Action is an opportunity to consolidate the policy changes announced in 2017, and to take stock of the detailed strategies on mitigation and adaptation set out in Singapore’s 2016 Climate Action Plan." (Go here for more).

 One of my own businesses, Sustain Ability Showcase Asia (SASA), has pledged to join forces with Green in Future to introduce at least two events to mark Singapore's Year of Climate Action.

 The first will be a two day workshop in May this year on Climate Action led by Professor Jeff Obbard. The second will be a Climate Action Forum, at a date to be determined, addressing five major themes: + Climate Science; + Energy; + Food security; + Water Resources; + Green Finance.

 Green in Future, with its online newsletter Green Pulse, and SASA’s ABC Carbon Express, will also support and promote many other events during the year, including the Green Growth and Business Forum, Singapore International Water Week, Clean Enviro Summit and the World Cities Forum in July, as well as the International Green Building Conference in September and Singapore International Energy Week in October. Read More

 Not to leave it there, we’ve also been involved in the timely introduction of an international sustainability education initiative. A new Diploma of Sustainable Operations is being introduced to fit into Singapore’s Year of Climate Action.

This programme will fill a much-needed gap in what is currently available by way of education in the business and practice of sustainability in Singapore.

 Starting 16 April, this 10-day intensive Government-accredited qualification focuses in equipping participants with a multitude of critical skills in the management of energy, carbon and sustainability.

 It is developed by Australian Centre for Sustainability Studies and Training (ACSST) and will be delivered by industry experts and world-renowned researchers, including Dr Adrian Ward, To register or to get more information, go to London School Business & Finance (LSBF).  

 There’s evidence coming in from around the world, that Singapore is not alone in making 2018 a significant one for climate action.

 A report from the World Resources Institute says this: 

This year opens a new phase for the Paris Agreement and a historic opportunity to jumpstart action to limit the most dangerous impacts of climate change and set the world on course to a carbon-neutral, sustainable future by 2050. With the official launch of the 2018 Talanoa Dialogue in January, countries are now embarking on the first global assessment of collective efforts to achieve the Paris goals. Global stocktakes are a core part of the regular five-year cycles built into the Agreement to ramp up ambition and action. Read more from World Resources Institute.

 Of course, not everything is going to plan, and we couldn’t resist drawing attention to a report which came out in January.

Before the Government officially launched the Year of Climate Action, news came out that Singapore banks "are bankrolling fossil fuel power projects that are at odds with public promises to fight climate change", Eco-Business and Straits Times reported.

The study by Sydney-based financial green group Market Forces shows that DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB)—Singapore’s big three banks—have provided loans to 21 coal power projects totalling US$2.29 billion over the last five years. For the full story, read Eco-Business.

 Reality hits home too, when we note that “Climate change is being taken very seriously in the Pacific Islands”. The New Zealand Government plans to create the world’s first humanitarian visa for climate refugees. Read More

 As we are prone to do in our mostly-monthly Express, we reported the latest Climate Science highlights, including accounts from a leaked draft UN report, which sound more alarm bells:

·     There is a “very high risk” that the ambitious target of limiting average temperature rise to 1.5oC is likely to be exceeded by the 2040s under current greenhouse gas emission trends.

·     Only a dramatic and unprecedented shift away from fossil fuels - to renewable energy - will enable the world to limit warming to no more than 1.5oC above pre-industrial times. Coal must be phased out rapidly.

·     Drastic reforms of industrial and agricultural practices - land clearing and deforestation - are required to avoid more heatwaves, droughts and floods, as well as the risks of mass migration of people and even conflicts triggered by a warming climate.

·     At current greenhouse gas emission rates, a breach of the 1.5oC target may only be 12 years away and may even require active removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - using so-called ‘negative emission technologies’ which are still nascent and prohibitively expensive.

·     There's a risk of crossing "climate tipping points" that would trigger a surge in greenhouse gas emissions from natural sources.

·     Arctic warming has become so pronounced that the WMO believes that this is likely to have profound and long-lasting repercussions on sea levels and weather patterns around the world.

We also include another monthly update from our “scientific advisor”, Dr Jeff Obbard:

 “The temperature records for 2017 are in. According to the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), 2017 was the second warmest year on record.

When compared to temperatures in a ‘pre-industrial’ times, 2017 was 1.17°C warmer than the average global temperature for the years between 1880 and 1920. 

The warmest year to date was 2016, where the average global temperature was 1.24oC warmer than the 1880-1920 base period.

A sign that the pace of global warming has slowed down? Sadly not, because there is a critical difference between the 2016 and 2017 temperatures.

In 2016, temperatures were boosted by a prevailing tropical El-Ni?o event which naturally warmed the climate, but this had mostly dissipated by the start of 2017. 

Therefore, 2017 was the warmest non-El Nino year on record, beating the previous non-El-Nino year in 2015 – mostly due to the unusually warm temperatures recorded in the Earth’s polar regions.” Read More

 We never forget to also draw attention to hopeful signs: investments and innovations, as well as awards, like the Cities of Love awards in Singapore. Here’s the report by Dr Parvathy Subhadra of Green Future:

“The inaugural Cities of Love Award (COLA) ceremony was held in January in conjunction with Singapore Management University's SMU Grow’s 3rd Anniversary. It was a celebration of sustainable efforts made by ordinary individuals and organisations. 

Unlike many sustainability awards that are often given to prominent figures and enterprises who implement large-scale transformational projects, COLA recognises smaller efforts that are creating positive impacts on society.

It was initiated by Inception, which was formed in Singapore in August 2010, by Valerie Ang and Tai Lee Siang, Chairman of the World Green Building Council and co-authors of the book "Cities of Love". The award comprised two categories: social sustainability and environmental sustainability. There were 26 Merit award winners and 6 Distinguished award winners across the categories. Read More

It reminds me to mention that I spent some time in the last week interviewing Tai Lee Siang, who just happens to be Chairman of the World Green Building Council. The interview will feature sometime in the wonderful Design Anthology Magazine, but we’re sure to make sure his words of wisdom feature elsewhere too.

 Events of note also make it into the Express, including the 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference on 8 and 9 March 2018 at Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 

 The 2nd annual conference will explore sustainability best practice within organisations, creating resilience in business and ways to implement change. The sustainability topics will include integration, politics, technology, automation, future of renewables, procurement, food security, sustainable construction and waste as a resource. 

 It just so happens that I’ll be participating as one of the speakers addressing the topic: "The Art of Sustainability in the Age of Digital Disruption". For the full programme go to the Conference site.

 ABC Carbon Express and SASA are together supporting this event, along with many other national and international organisations from the public and private sectors. When you Register here, if you quote this special code you'll get a discount: SASA18.

 Flying and air travel are never far from my focus, so while attending the Singapore Airshow at Changi earlier this month, I put on my aviation writer/editor hat and met many representatives from the global aviation industry, including the two leaders in aircraft manufacturing, Boeing and Airbus. 

We all need reminding that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the only global organisation in any industry to come up with a structured plan for all its member airlines to cut aviation emissions.

I was also pleased to meet (once again) Qantas CEO Alan Joyce who was speaking to the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. I asked him how the industry, and Qantas in particular, is dealing with its commitment to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions from operations. One very distinct way - he was quick to point out - is by switching to jet bio fuels. So I ran this item in Express with the headline:

 Qantas "cuts the mustard" with jet bio fuel flights

Qantas is not the only airline to introduce jet bio fuel test flights, but it is the first to utilise mustard seed oil and the first to operate a biofuel flight between Australia and the United States.

The 15-hour flight in January 2018 used a blended fuel that was 10% derived from the brassica carinata, an industrial type of mustard seed.

The world-first used a Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 on a scheduled passenger service, QF96, and reduced carbon emissions by 7% compared with the airline’s usual flight over the same Los Angeles to Melbourne route.

 Compared pound for pound with jet fuel, the mustard seed biofuel reduces emissions by 80% over the fuel’s life cycle. Here's the latest Qantas update.

 I also referred to the IATA plan for all airlines to meet stringent emissions goals?

Aiming for a reduction in net aviation CO2 emissions of 50% by 2050, relative to 2005 levels, IATA has adopted a multi-faceted approach, which involves: 

• Improved technology, including the deployment of sustainable low-carbon fuels
• More efficient aircraft operations
• Infrastructure improvements, including modernised air traffic management systems
• A single global market-based measure, to fill the remaining emissions gap

For more on aviation's global emissions plan, go to IATA 

 There was also a report on what IKEA is doing in Singapore to switch to renewable energy:

Making renewable energy a part of everyday operations, IKEA has flipped the switch on two very different solar projects in Singapore.

IKEA in Alexandra Road is the first commercial enterprise in Singapore to activate a large-scale solar cooling system - designed and produced by SOLID of Austria - converting solar heat into air conditioning for its store and warehouse. The system reduces the store’s CO2 emissions by 428 metric tonnes a year – the equivalent of emissions released by 200 jetliners making a trip from Singapore to Sydney.

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources was on hand to launch the solar project. Here's what she had to say.

Across the city, IKEA Tampines called on the Swiss global energy company ABB to set up a solar power system that pumps energy directly into the store to run lights and other electrical appliances. The 3,700 PV (photovoltaic) solar panels on the rooftop will generate an estimated 1.3 million Kwh of renewable energy this year. That’s enough to power the equivalent of 283 four-room Housing Development Board (HDB) flats in Singapore. See "IKEA Singapore flicks the switch on solar projects" on YouTube.

We usually include some items in the section “Last Word”. Here’s two I like:

 Art on the Move. A US-based organisation is offering US$21,000 to designers and artists who can create the best and most workable sustainable energy generators. Every two years, LAGI (Land Art Generation Initiative) organises a global competition that calls for submissions of art entries which must include a clean energy aspect capable of actual production. This year it's held in Melbourne, Australia, and covers different technologies: solar PV, wind-power, solar thermal, as well as energy from pressure movement and ocean currents.  Read the story on Gaia Discovery.

 Key to Saving Rhinos. We talked to Andrew Frank of Key Telematics during the recent UK Mission to Singapore on Urban Living, who told us how technology can be used to keep track of Rhinos in Africa to save the threatened species. It's sad but true that Rhino poaching has escalated lately and is being driven by the demand for rhino horn in Asian countries, particularly Vietnam. Poachers are being supplied by criminal gangs with sophisticated equipment to track and kill rhinos. Here's hoping Key Telematics can stop the poachers and save the Rhino. Read more

 If you would like to see the full online magazine, go to this link: ABC Carbon Express.