Speaking at the World Wide Fund Singapore's Earth Summit on May 23, SMU Professor Emeritus of Finance (Practice) Annie Koh noted that the temperature in Singapore has continued to rise despite the many trees to cool the environment. In his keynote address, SMU Professor Urban Climate and United Nations' Co-Chair of Working Group II of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Seventh Assessment Cycle Winston Chow cited the example of a bigger park having a greater colling effect than a small park to highlight that shade from street trees and the scale of green spaces are important. He also stressed that nature-based solutions (NbS), while effective for protecting Singapore from climate change, will wane in efficacy with rising temperatures, necessitating urgent global action to scale up climate efforts. He added that tackling climate change requires integrating NbS within a broader strategy that involves wider community engagement and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
