In the face of an increasingly urgent climate crisis, the need to achieve net-zero emissions has become one of the most critical goals of our time. Net Zero refers to balancing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted with the amount removed from the atmosphere, resulting in no additional carbon pollution. While government policies, international agreements, and technological advancements play significant roles in addressing this issue, the importance of individual actions cannot be overlooked.
In Singapore, there are common phrases repeated in a bid to get people to take ownership of the climate crisis: “Reduce, reuse, recycle” “Bring your own bags” “We all have a part to play”, but beyond these messages and the daily actions they encourage, what more can be done to effect impactful change?
Taking the right actions
An ongoing IPUR study to understand public perceptions and attitudes towards Net Zero found that Singaporeans are taking actions but not necessarily the most impactful actions. Two actions stand out in the data which highlight a gap between perceived impact and actual impact: meat consumption and air travel.
The challenge of reducing meat consumption and air travel points to a misperception of effectiveness but also perhaps a reluctance to change dietary habits or overseas travel. Instead of immediate or extreme changes, small incremental adjustments can be adopted to reduce a person’s carbon footprint. Instead of consuming meat twice a day, consider cutting that down to one or even twice every three days.
The study also found that there is room for government communications to play a more active role in addressing the misperceptions of effectiveness among the public. For example, people are not exposed to enough information and resources about carbon offsets and what they achieve, leading to continued high levels of air travel without any greenhouse gas removal in return.
Information access
Making decisions without adequate information is never ideal. Even daily choices such as which produce to buy at the supermarket or which clothes are a result of fast fashion can have significant consequences relating to carbon emissions and the environment.
Some of these dilemmas and challenges took centre stage during IPUR’s “Getting to Net Zero” workshop on 13 September. In conjunction with NUS Sustainability Connect, the workshop also featured a panel of speakers:
- Dr Wu Huijuan, Vice President, ESG Solutions, Sector Solutions Group, UOB
- Foo Tun Shien, Origination & Technical Analyst at Climate Impact X
- Ian Lim, Head of Consumers and Payments, Singapore Power
About 60 participants were divided to small groups for focus group discussions to dialogue about various carbon initiatives and their experiences engaging these products and services.
Information access was a clear theme which stood out. Participants also cautioned against information overload as it deters people from wanting to find out more. There were also discussions about the legitimacy of carbon offsets and how they contribute to an airline’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact.
IPUR information pack
Having heard from workshop participants and drawing insights from the study, IPUR is developing an information pack as a resource for the public to make more informed decisions when it comes to managing their carbon footprint. The pack will contain information about carbon services and products as well as suggestions on climate actions to build upon.
Amidst what feels like the never ending reports of climate disasters, individual actions can seem so small and insignificant. However change on larger and global scales is only meaningful when there’s support and buy-in from people. After all, systematic change often starts with individual action.
