SMALL ISLANDS’ APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION – THE CASES OF MAURITIUS AND SINGAPORE
Lutchmeeduth Bullywon (Climate Researcher – Ministry of Environment, Mauritius)[1] ; Kua Harn Wei1 (National University of Singapore); Asanga Gunawansa (National University of Singapore); Valentino Piana (Economics Web Institute, Rome)
Abstract
The world is under the threat and the impact of climate change with disastrous and pervasive consequences. Small island nations are the most vulnerable "hot spots”. Singapore and Mauritius have taken important steps in both adaptation and mitigation of climate change and are vocal in the international arena in demanding the exploration and the implementation of focused measures. There is no known alternate planet; if small island populations are forced to forsake their countries because of sea level rise, devastating storms, salinization of fresh water, and other site-specific difficulties, the world is deemed to have failed in elementary solidarity. Over time, the consequence may be insurmountable threat to the future of civilization as we know it.
Pessimism however should not dominate, as adequate policies can foster deep cuts in emissions by developed countries and developing nations, while location-specific adaptation can save lives and key assets. The experiences of Mauritius and Singapore highlight examples of how policies and legislations are made and implemented to address climate change-related problems unique to their situations.
1. The experience of Mauritius
As a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), Mauritius is among the countries that are most affected by the global phenomenon of climate change and global warming. The Barbados Programme of Action (1994) and the Mauritius Strategy (2005) recognized that climate change could delay or prevent sustainable development in SIDS and that SIDS face special challenges due to their specific physical and geographical characteristics. Both conferences stated that the responsibility for sustainable development lies with the SIDS’s government themselves, but called for cooperation of the international community to enable SIDS to attain sustainable development goals (Briguglio et al., 2007). Added to these, the IPCC Report of 2007 states that sea level rise is expected to exacerbate inundation, storm surge, erosion and other coastal hazards and that by the by mid century, climate change is expected to reduce water resources in many islands. Climate change impacts would no doubt be felt in all spheres ranging from freshwater resources, forests, biodiversity, health and good governance.
It is within this context that the Government of Mauritius has set a new vision of “Maurice-Ile Durable”, which is to transform Mauritius into a sustainable island with a view to containing climate change impacts. Mitigation and adaptation strategies have up to now called for a lot of efforts and resources by the Government.
With the advent of climate change and its associated effects on sea level rise, Mauritius is focusing its efforts on strategies that would safeguard the economic sectors. The tourism sector is given high importance in this sustainable development equation. The tourism industry provides economic and social benefits to the country and the new set target is to attract 2 million tourists to the island by the year 2015- that is, a doubling of the number of tourist arrivals. The protection and management of the natural capital therefore remains an important conditionality in the quest for future economic and social success.
The concept of “Maurice-Ile Durable” is indeed a forward looking vision. It was announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius as a long term vision targeted to the promotion of sustainable development that aimed specifically to make Mauritius less dependent on fossil fuel. The project also includes the setting up of an Eco Park and the organization of a World Ecological Forum in 2011. Up to now, the fund has financed projects in the fields of solar water heating with a grant of about USD 315 to domestic users for the purchase of solar water heaters; sale of compact fluorescent lamps among households at heavily subsidized prices; street lighting; lighting in schools, hospitals and public buildings with the replacement of conventional lighting by economic compact fluorescent lighting systems; installation of solar water heaters in public hospitals and the financing of a research project by the University of Mauritius with a foreign University.
Apart from the MID initiative, good environmental governance has also been enhanced at all levels of the society. The Environment Protection Act 2002 which is the main legislative framework for environmental protection and sustainable development has been amended in 2008 so as to make it more responsive and adaptable to the emerging environmental challenges. The national environmental strategies have been reviewed to reflect the new environmental paradigm within which the economy is operating. A holistic energy policy has been developed and industries are being encouraged to carry out regularly energy audits within their organizations. Strategic environmental and sensitization campaigns are regularly undertaken in schools and at community levels so that the population can endorse faster a holistic environmental culture characterized by greenness and cleanness. An integrated five-year national programme on sustainable consumption and production for Mauritius has already been developed and is currently under the implementation phase. A national strategy on Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM) will also be developed with a view to making Mauritius a highly attractive CDM investment destination.
In terms of climate change adaptation, works are much in progress. Public beaches have been reinstated and more coastal protection works are expected to be undertaken. In addition with the adverse impacts of climate change related to flooding and torrential rains, the Government has embarked on a comprehensive land drainage programme.
Although greenhouse gas emissions produced by SIDS are far negligible compared to other big states, yet the fate is that SIDS would be most affected by climate change impacts. In the case of Mauritius, much of its tourism facilities and infrastructure would be affected by sea level rise. Associated with this, the impacts would also be felt by communities living along the sea shore. Evidently the cost of adaptation and mitigation is very high given the limited quantum of natural resources that Mauritius has.
Climate change adaptation and mitigation call for its integration in sustainable development strategies and this is clearly demonstrated in the concept of “Maurice-Ile Durable”. Its implementation is given paramount importance by the Government through the setting up of a new Ministry of Renewable Energy. Though Mauritius is highly vulnerable to climate change, yet the Government is sparing no efforts to ensure a clean and green environment to the coming generations. The need for big states to assist SIDS and especially Mauritius in their sustainable development goals is more important than ever.
2. The experience of Singapore
Having ratified the Kyoto Protocol in April 2006, Singapore has made a voluntary commitment to reduce its carbon intensity by 25% from 1990 levels by the year 2012. According to the Singapore Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), in fact, the country had achieved a 22% reduction in 2004 (MEWR, 2008). Further, according to figures from the National Environment Agency (NEA, 2006/2007), Singapore’s carbon intensity was at 0.28 kilotonnes per SGD million in 1990. That figure has declined to 0.21 in 2005, representing a 25% reduction. Thus, it could be said that Singapore is well on track to meet its reduction goals by 2012.
According to MEWR, the main contribution to Singapore’s GHG emissions is carbon dioxide (CO2). The following table shows CO2 emissions in Singapore from the five key sectors, namely, power generation, manufacturing, transport, buildings and households, in terms of both primary and secondary consumption in 2004 (Primary users are those which combust fuel directly while secondary users are those, which use the electricity generated from fuel):
Table 1. Key CO2 Contributors in 2004 (kilotons)
Sector / Primary Consumption / Secondary Consumption / Overall ConsumptionElectricity Generation / 19,058 (48%) / -
Manufacturing / 13,179 (33%) / 8,311 (44%) / 21,490
Transport / 6,758 (17%) / 921 (5%) / 7,679
Buildings / 391 (1%) / 5,777 (30%) / 6,168
Consumers/Households / 233 (-1%) / 3,440 (18%) / 3,673
Others / - / 610 (3%) / 610
Source: MEWR
A clear indication from the above table is that, when the primary and secondary usage is put together, the construction sector is one of the main contributors to GHG emissions in Singapore.
2.1. National Climate Change Strategy
The National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) provides guidelines to develop Singapore along a sustainable path. The principles are as follow:
- Climate change action must be environmentally sustainable and compatible with the country’s economic growth.
- Climate change action needs coordinated efforts from different stakeholders – including individuals, businesses and government. An important part of the strategy is to motivate citizens to join national effort and take actions in their daily lives to be more energy efficient and choose cleaner fuels.
- Since the NCCS will involve such a wide spectrum of people, a multi-stakeholder consultative approach in which the views of stakeholders are sought and utilized appropriately will be adopted to implement the many ideas contained in the NCSS.
The NCCS aims to meet the national carbon intensity target through actions in five key sectors mentioned above, namely, power generation, manufacturing, transport, buildings and households. Energy use in buildings made up around 16% of Singapore’s energy demand in 2004. Given Singapore’s tropical climate, the need for air-conditioning forms a large part of our electrical demand. It is expected that rising temperatures would increase the demand for cooling. To promote buildings designed to encourage greater use of natural light and ventilation, and with proper insulation that ensures less energy is used to cool down buildings, the Building Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore has established minimum energy efficiency standards under the Building Control Regulations that focus on heat transfer. The regulations also require air-conditioning equipment and lighting to comply with minimum efficiency standards prescribed in the Singapore Standard Codes of Practice for Building Services and Equipment.
To encourage best practices beyond what are specified in the standard building codes, two building labeling schemes have been introduced by BCA. The first of these schemes is the Green mark Scheme (GMS), introduced in January 2005. It rates the environmental friendliness of a building based on a point scoring approach. Depending on the score, the rating is categorized in four levels, namely, Platinum, Gold Plus, Gold and Certified. It enables the benchmarking of the building's environmental performance and allows comparison between buildings. According to BCA, the GMS is a benchmarking scheme which aims to achieve a sustainable built environment by incorporating best practices in environmental design and construction, and the adoption of green building technologies (BCA, 2007).
Developed by the Energy Sustainability Unit of National University of Singapore (NUS) and NEA, the Energy Smart Labeling Scheme was launched in December 2005, and is the first energy efficient building label in Asia. Under this scheme “Energy Smart” labeling is given to the top 25% most energy-efficient buildings in Singapore that also demonstrate good indoor environmental quality. It recognizes developers and owners who design and maintain efficient buildings and is also a benchmarking scheme, where building owners can compare the energy efficiency of their buildings against a national benchmark. It is a pre-requisite for an existing commercial building to achieve the Energy Smart label in order to win the Platinum Award, the highest award, under the GMS.
In addition to the above, some of the other mechanisms that have been put in place in Singapore to help it achieve its GHG emission reduction targets include:
- Building Energy Efficiency Master Plan (BEEMP), formulated by the BCA. It details the various initiatives taken by the BCA to fulfill a number of recommendations made by the Inter-Agency Committee on Energy Efficiency (IACEE), which comprises senior officers from various government agencies (which was formed in 1998), on strategic directions to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings, industries and transport sectors. Carrying out energy audits of selected buildings, review and update of energy standards, introduction of energy efficiency indices and performance bench marks and the introduction of performance contracting (also known as 'third party financing' or 'contract energy management, this is a means of raising money for investments in energy efficiency that is based on future savings) are among the key recommendations made by the IACEE which are to be implemented under the BEEMP.
- Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme, a co-funding scheme administered by the NEA to incentivize companies in the manufacturing and building sectors to carry out detailed studies on their energy consumption and identify potential areas for energy efficiency improvement (NEA, 2002).
- Recently, the Government of Singapore has launched a Green Building Master plan to encourage more developers and owners of property to go green. It is said that the aim is to set aside S$ 20 million over the years three years, 2008 – 2010, for a new scheme called the Green Mark Incentive Scheme in support of this plan. Further, it is said that a further S$ 50 million would be set aside over the next five years to intensify research and development efforts in green building technologies and energy efficiency for buildings, particularly in the tropics (MND, 2007).
In summary, the vast majority of these policies are aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. With regards to adapting to climate change, the NEA has identified a list of general policymaking concepts.
2.2. Singapore’s Adaptation Strategies
In the NCSS, the NEA identified the potential impacts of climate change in seven ways: increased flooding, coastal land loss, water resource scarcity, public health impact from resurgence of diseases, heat stress, increased energy demand and impacts on biodiversity. As such, adaptation policies are designed to address these seven potential impacts (NCSS, 2008). We describe those policies that are directly relevant to the construction industry and urban development.
In early 1970s, many areas in Singapore were prone to flooding during the monsoon months; over the last 30 years, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has been implementing infrastructure policies to reduce flood-prone areas from 3200 ha in the 1970s to about 124 ha in 2006. It aims to further reduce the area to less than 66 ha by 2011. This is expected to help ameliorate inland flooding incurred by either by sea-level rises (that may make it more difficult for rainwater to drain back into the sea) or storm surges at the shoreline caused by strong winds blowing inward from the sea.