25 Jul 2022, 9:54 am
Singapore has launched a S$23.5 million programme focusing on researching the long-term impact of climate change on the country.
Launched by the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS), the programme is known as the Climate Impact Science Research (CISR) programme. It incorporates includes sea level rise, water resource and flood management, biodiversity and food security, human health and energy, and science-policy translation to aid business understanding.
The CCRS sits under the National Environment Agency (NEA). According to a statement by the NEA, the CISR programme is expected to help to provide a firm foundation for future policy and infrastructure planning. For example, policymakers would be able to make more informed decisions about the need for adaptive infrastructure and optimising the costs of that infrastructure.
“Singapore, as a highly urbanised, densely populated, and low-lying country, which is reliant on international trade, is vulnerable to [the effects of climate change],” the NEA said in a statement. “While mitigation action remains a key focus of our contribution against climate change, equal importance must be placed on climate adaptation, informed by the latest climate science.”
The programme will be funded under Singapore's Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan (60-page/851KB), which was expanded from the country’s former Research and Development strategy in 2010.
