It’s mid-July and comfortably warm outside, so I must be in Singapore for the IAMCR 2025 conference. After some very warm welcomes, including from a Chinese lion dance troupe, we begin with a keynote by Ang Peng Hwa, addressing the theme of climate change which is central to this conference. He notes the increasingly obvious impact of climate change on countries in this region – less predictable weather, more severe weather events, and conflicting ideas about solutions. Climate change in this sense is a wicked problem – and one of the characteristics of such wicked problems is organised irresponsibility.
Singapore takes climate change seriously. It has already begun to raise road levels in some areas to address the challenges from rising sea levels; it has several zero-emissions buildings; it is experimenting with new building techniques; it is exploring the use of recycled drinking water (or NeWater). Singapore is not naturally self-sufficient in water; it imports much of its water from neighbouring Malaysia, which is a threat to its sovereignty and independence.
Early water recycling attempts in the 1970s came to nothing: untreated water was too corrosive to be useful, and recycling was too expensive. New membrane technologies became available in the 2000s, and were finally medically safe and economically viable; this made it possible to use such water for industry purposes. This meets some 40% of the country’s water demand, rendering the country self-sufficient. Government ministers, foreign dignitaries, and other celebrities provided endorsements by drinking the water.
The government engaged in substantial promotional activities, too – including public campaigns, a visitor centre, awareness raising about the previous dependency on Malaysia, an emphasis on societal conformity, free promotional samples at the annual National Day Parade. Communication played a critical role in establishing NeWater as an acceptable product.
A second example of government intervention in Singapore is the campaign against Dengue fever – a dangerous mosquito-borne disease common in tropical areas. Climate change is increasing the risk of Dengue in the region: it enables the spread of mosquitoes to more temperate regions. The government has cracked down on potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes, including fines for residents who leave out containers with standing water where mosquitoes might breed.
A third major problem in Singapore is haze, especially from environmental burn-offs in Indonesia that clear land for palm oil plantations. Palm oil is big business, and burn-offs are poorly policed; small holders engaging in traditional farming (where burn-offs are seen as cleansing) are often blamed, but in reality large industrial farms are responsible. These have also produced substantial benefits for Sumatra and Riau, alongside a substantial number of deaths from environmental pollution. Ang Peng Hwa was involved in setting up a local action group on Facebook that called for a boycott of palm oil companies – but this is different since the industry of palm oil users is highly fragmented.
Working with other consumer organisations, this led to a boycott of a pulp and paper company involved in burn-offs; this also generated major international news media coverage. The boycotted companies ended up hiring some of the executives from the organisations calling for their boycotts as well, though – somewhat undermining the effort. There has been less burning, and less haze, in recent years, but this is largely due to climatic conditions hindering burn-offs.
These experiences show that there are some steps that can be taken to address climate change, but true climate justice remains a wicked problem. It is likely that governments will engage with NGOs in future efforts – and communication will be central to this.
