After COP26: Where are we heading towards?

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In recent decades, more frequent and intense climate-related scenarios such as extreme weathers, rising sea levels are hitting the headlines. It raises public awareness about the environmental issues and highlights the immediate actions that all of us need to take. At the United Nations climate conference, COP26, the UN officials have warned that time is running out for the world to tackle the climate crisis. It is therefore of utmost importance to limit the global warming at 1.5°C and achieve “net zero” by 2050.

During the COP26 conference in Glasgow, the use of coal and fossil fuels have received growing pressure as it is one of the key contributors of global warming. Nearly 30% of global emissions come from the burning of coal. This will push the world further away from its ultimate goal of net zero emissions. Therefore, it is a matter of urgency to phase out the use of coal and stop financing for coal projects. Another key discussion point during the COP26 climate summit is to end deforestation by 2030. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations, we have lost nearly 420 million hectares of forest since 1990 while making room for other land uses. To slow down the forest lost, countries that have signed the declaration need to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains.

Singapore’s Initiatives

As the financial regulator of Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is demonstrating its commitment towards promoting a greener economy. As part of its sustainability efforts, MAS has formed a Sustainability Group with Dr Darian McBain as the Sustainability Officer to help building a green finance ecosystem. Further to that, MAS has announced in November this year about their plan of establishing four digital platforms under Project Greenprint to facilitate the transparency and consistency of ESG reporting. On the other hand, as stated in a recent CNA news article, Singapore has become member of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) at COP26. The aim of joining the PPCA is to accelerate the transition from coal to clean energy sources by 2050.

Some other ASEAN countries

1. To keep the global temperature rise under control, Malaysia is seeking to reduce methane emission that mainly come from the oil and gas industries. As one of the participants of the Global Methane Pledge, Malaysia agrees to take necessary actions to cut down the methane emissions across all sectors by at least 30% by 2030. Such initiative aims to help decrease global warming by 0.2 degree Celsius by the next 30 years.
2. Southeast Asia region is playing an important part in tackling climate change as it accounts for 15% of the world’s tropical forests. Among all the other neighbouring countries, Vietnam and Indonesia are the first two ASEAN countries to sign a pledge to halt deforestation by 2030. Their ultimate goal is to restore stability of climate and local weather.

Summary

As mentioned by Mr Dominguez, the lead of the Philippines’ delegation during his speech at COP26, this climate summit needs to become the “catalyst for concrete action plans” instead of just a platform of discussion for countries’ representatives. Therefore, it is critical for countries to take urgent actions and initiate the change today. Taking into consideration the financial needs and limited capabilities of developing countries, developed countries must go hand-in-hand with these developing countries and provide climate finance to them while moving towards a low carbon future. When it comes to climate change, everyone has the responsibility to rectify the problems and make positive contributions to the environment. Hence, collective efforts from various parties including government, private enterprises and financial institutions are necessary to ensure their ESG practices are aligned to the COP26 goals. Discover why your business should adopt ESG initiatives.

How we can help

While moving towards a more sustainable economy, Alder helps integrate the ESG framework into your business. Our services include:

• Assisting to set up ESG frameworks
• Providing support on ESG reporting
• Providing ongoing ESG advice and support
• Facilitating effective communication of the company’s ESG approach with internal and external stakeholders
• Reviewing and rating the existing governance framework

Reference Materials

Board, J. (2021). ‘COP26: World leaders promise to end deforestation by 2030, but most Southeast Asian countries yet to sign on’, CNA, 3 November. Available at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sustainability/cop26-glasgow-deforestation-declaration-southeast-asia-2286856

Chow, D. (2021). ‘Time is running out’ at U.N. climate conference, officials warn’, NBC News, 12 November. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/cop26-un-officials-warn-time-running-reach-deals-rcna5263

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (2020). ‘The State of the World’s Forests 2020’. Available at: https://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/

Leo, L. (2021). ‘COP26: Singapore commits to phasing out unabated coal power by 2050’, CNA, 4 November. Available at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/cop26-singapore-commits-phasing-out-unabated-coal-power-2050-2291546

Monetary Authority of Singapore (2021). ‘MAS sets up sustainability group, appoints Chief Sustainability Officer’. Available at: https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2021/mas-sets-up-sustainability-group-appoints-chief-sustainability-officer

Ranada, P. (2021). ‘What the Philippine delegation did at COP26 climate summit’, Rappler, 13 November. Available at: https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/what-philippine-delegation-did-cop26-climate-summit/

Wilkinson, D. (2021). ‘COP26 Is Over – What’s Next for Forests, Coal, and Fossil Fuel Finance?’, NBC News, 16 November. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/cop26-un-officials-warn-time-running-reach-deals-rcna5263