At the COP28 Summit, for the first time since nations began meeting some three decades ago, nearly 200 countries convened by the United Nations approved a milestone plan to ramp up renewable energy and transition away from coal, oil and gas. With all eyes on the new deal - that is not legally binding and can’t, on its own, force any country to act - “transition finance” is shaping up to be one of this year’s most important topics in the climate space but how just is this transition?  On this episode of Climate Connections, Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation and Global Board of Director, World Resources Institute shares her insights on why a just transition is so important and why people must be at the center of this green transition. Sharan recently spoke at the 2024 Ecosperity Week spearheaded by Temasek. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that in just Singapore alone, an average person can eat nearly 390 eggs in a year? Every stage of egg production contributes to greenhouse gases and other harmful emissions. Scientists from the University of Oviedo in Spain found that the carbon footprint of eggs is similar to that of other basic foods of animal origin, like milk. So, is there a way to be more environmentally friendly with our eggs? On this episode of Climate Connections, Vinita Choolani, Founder and CEO of Float Foods lets us in on why she embarked on that journey to create a plant-based egg that can hopefully substitute our love affair with chicken eggs, and where the business is at right now.  Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: Float Foods Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farmers in India are contending with the impact of climate change every day as their crops are often subject to weather conditions, which are evolving as climate change becomes more deeply entrenched. Every year, about 30% of agricultural produce is wasted before it leaves the farms. And did you know this food waste contributes to greenhouse gases? On this episode of Climate Connections, Nidhi Pant, Co-Founder of S4S Technologies, who has seen how deeply intertwined challenges of food waste, rural poverty and gender inequality are, shares the journey she embarked on together with five other university friends, to help smallholder female farmers preserve and market surplus produce. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: The Earthshot Prize Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate change is caused by the rise in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Such gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which are long-lived compounds that can remain in the atmosphere for several years. But you might be wondering if climate change in turn impacts the quality of the air we breathe.  On this episode of Climate Connections, NTU Professor Stephan Schuster, Research Director of the Meta-o’mics & Microbiomes cluster at the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering reviews the connection between air pollution and climate change, as well as the tell-tale signs that scientists look out for when measuring air quality. Professor Schuster also reveals some potential solutions that actually already exist in Singapore! Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: NTU Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Calling out to plant parents, as well as those thinking of getting succulents to spruce up your homes!  Increasingly, many popular ornamental plants are plucked from their natural habitats instead of being grown in nurseries. The consequences of this go beyond our living rooms, impacting entire landscapes and the livelihoods of communities that depend on them. The highest number of native succulent species - drought resistant plants which are slow growing, long lived, and occur in arid areas - are found in Africa. It might not occur to you that your plant purchase is fueling plant poaching - but since 2019, more than 600,000 illegally harvested succulents, representing 450 different species have been seized by authorities as they transit Southern Africa to overseas markets.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Dominique Prinsloo, Project Manager from TRAFFIC - who’s done quite a bit of research into the succulent plant poaching crisis - explains what's driving the trade and how you can differentiate between a wild harvested succulent versus a nursery-grown one. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: TRAFFIC Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you been to Phillip Island Nature Parks in Australia?  It’s home to the largest little penguin population - better known as fairy penguins - globally. They’re the smallest penguin species in the world.  But today’s focus is on another seabird - short-tailed shearwaters that use Phillip Island as their breeding grounds! From this week, four-month old fledglings are starting their migration and the Phillip Island Nature Parks is calling for individuals and businesses on the island to switch off their lights at night. Short-tailed shearwaters are mid-sized migratory birds that travel from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere each year, migrating from Australia towards Japan, then across to the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea to the north of Alaska. They manage this massive 16,000km journey in under four weeks, all before returning to the shores of Phillip Island (Millowl). Among the most vulnerable are seabirds, with shearwaters facing the greatest risk. In a series of studies by Phillip Island Nature Parks exploring the negative effect of artificial lights on shearwaters, light pollution is now at the forefront of negative factors disrupting the delicate balance of ecosystems.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Dr Duncan Sutherland, Senior Scientist, Phillip Island Nature Parks why the night lights are so detrimental to the short-tailed shearwaters during migration season, conservation efforts under the "Dark Sky So Shearwaters Fly" campaign and how you can do your part. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo/Sound credits: Phillip Island Nature Parks Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Quite unsurprisingly, demand for batteries is expected to increase 30% each year until 2030. A greater need for batteries to power more electric vehicles means increased demand for metals like lithium, a finite resource whose extraction has raised ecological and human rights issues.  Lithium mining takes a heavy toll - trees are often cut down to make room for mines, chemicals used in the process can poison waterways, and meanwhile, millions of tonnes of batteries are expected to be decommissioned over the coming decades, creating hazardous waste. But have you ever thought about how sustainable your batteries are?  On this episode of Climate Connections, Justin Hung, CEO & Co-Founder of GRST (which stands for Green, Renewable, Sustainable Technology) and 2023 Earthshot Prize winner shares about the cleaner process he developed to make batteries that pollutes less and uses components that can be more easily recycled. The eco-friendly lithium batteries technology start-up aims to raise US$50 million over the next two years. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: Earthshot Prize Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rice is a key staple in many diets around the world. But did you know that rice production accounts for over 10% of global methane emissions? These emissions in turn contribute to climate change. Bali is an Indonesian island known for its stunning landscapes, famous for its terraced rice fields that cascade down hillsides, creating a picturesque environment. But beyond aesthetics, the Bali rice fields and the Subak system are closely intertwined and they represent the lifeblood of Bali's cultural and agricultural heritage.  The Subak system, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, refers to the traditional irrigation system developed by Balinese farmers to manage water distribution and cultivation in flooded rice fields. It is a cooperative and democratic system that emphasises harmony between nature and the community. On this episode of Climate Connections - Sharadha Sathiakumar, Research Fellow, Earth Observatory of Singapore shares more about her project exploring potential solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in the rice fields of Bali located in Indonesia, the fourth-largest producer of rice worldwide. She found that the Intermittent Wetting and Drying technique allowing local farmers to improvise based on their experience could very well be the solution to reducing the greenhouse gases emitted by the rice you eat! The results of this experiment were very promising: both methane and nitrous oxide emissions reduced, and rice yield increased. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: Sharadha Sathiakumar, Joanne Petrina, Earth Observatory of Singapore Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ice-cold, juicy oysters definitely sound like a good idea, as we search for ways to beat the heat in recent weeks! But have you ever wondered what happens to the oyster shells afterwards? On this episode of Climate Connections, we feature two local ecologists - Yukie Yokoyama and Erika Ng from Witteveen+Bos - who are giving discarded oyster shells a new lease of life in Singapore by creating the country's first artificial oyster reef at the jetty near Changi Sailing Club. Find out more about their journey to find ways to help Singapore fight pollution, improve marine biodiversity, and protect against coastal erosion - through the help of oyster reefs. And as they say - "The world is your oyster!" Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: Yukie Yokoyama & Erika Ng Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plastic consumption has increased exponentially in recent years. When plastics enter the ocean, microorganisms attach to and colonise them, forming an ecological community known as the ‘Plastisphere’. But we don’t really know much about these colonies. What we know, is that plastics can be silent killers of marine life. Plastics also carry other chemical compounds called additives in addition to the polymer resin, and these materials can actually leach into the environment.  To understand the plastic-microbes interaction, NTU researchers extracted DNA information of plastispheres gathered from 14 coastal locations in Singapore, and they found both potential plastic-eating bacteria and harmful microbes thriving on the samples. On this episode of Climate Connections, we feature:  - Jonas Koh (NTU doctoral student, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering) - Professor Shane Allen Snyder (Executive Director, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute) Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: NTU Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Andes stands out for its striking species richness and endemicity that characterise many emblematic Neotropical clades distributed in or around these mountains. It's also a vital region, with its highland forests providing water for millions of people downstream.  However, this rich ecosystem is increasingly threatened by rapid development, mining and climate change. With the glaciers melting and forests disappearing, 2023 Earthshot Prize winners Florent Kaiser, CEO of Global Forest Generation and Constantino Aucca Chutas, President & Co-founder of Acción Andina are working hard to restore the degraded ecosystems of the Andes and secure the water supply for local communities.  On this episode of Climate Connections, we go on a journey to find out how they are reviving ancient indigenous practices and galvanising the help of multi-generations of locals and partners to conserve the Andes and beyond. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: Acción Andina, Earthshot Prize  Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the heart of Sumatra lies the Leuser Ecosystem - the last place on Earth where several of the key Sundaland mega-fauna species can still be found together: the tiger, orangutan, elephant, and rhino. But all that are under extreme threat due to unsustainable development.  In the spirit of International Women’s Day, on this episode of Climate Connections - we feature the Chairperson & Co-Founder of Forest Nature and Environment Aceh, Farwiza Farhan, a fearless female voice who has succeeded in advocating for law enforcement against companies operating illegally and launched a citizen lawsuit that empowers local communities to have meaningful involvement in policy making. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: HAkA, Joel Sartore, Paul Hilton, Ruben Hoekstra, Junaidi Hanafiah, Citra Drone, leuserconservationforum IG Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does sustainability mean to you? Challenges surrounding going green often involve an intricate web of complex problems that are interlinked. On this episode of Climate Connections, 11-year-old Aurvi Jain, Eco Warrior & TEDxSingapore Speaker explains why every single little action counts more than age. She also lets us in on a little secret project that she worked on together with renowned filmmaker Damon Gameau, that will be released later this year. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: Aurvi Jain & regenerators (Instagram) Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life in oceans has evolved for three times as long as life on land, and it holds clues to four billion years of our evolutionary heritage. But although an estimated 2 million species inhabit our oceans, up to 90% remain undescribed. This longstanding void in the knowledge and observation of marine biodiversity is a growing worry, with potential unrecorded extinctions and declines aggravating the prevailing biodiversity crisis.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Oliver Steeds, Chief Executive of Nekton Foundation and Director of Ocean Census shares more about Ocean Census' initiative by scientists who have set themselves an ambitious goal of discovering 100,000 new species in a decade, before overfishing and global warming drive entire populations to extinction. Take an exclusive look at some of these new species & the expedition on Instagram page @climateconnectionsbykt (Video courtesy of Ocean Census) Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: Ocean Census Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re just hours away from ringing in the Chinese New Year, and also the Year of the Dragon. It’s also typically a time when many might consider getting a pet that coincides with the zodiac for the year for good luck - bearded dragons in this case, even though they might be prohibited, depending on where you live. Chinese families will also be feasting on a range of delicacies like abalone and sea cucumbers.  But before you do any of that, think again - because you might be fuelling illegal wildlife smuggling, or organised criminal and drug syndicates!  On this episode of Climate Connections, Serene Chng, Senior Programme Officer at TRAFFIC International - Southeast Asia weighs in on why trafficking poses a severe threat to many endangered species, and challenges involved in trying to nip this issue in the bud. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: TRAFFIC Music/sound credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors, Astrine LeoungSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today marks World Wetlands Day.  The swamp forests, reedbeds and flooded grasslands of the Lower Mekong basin form one of the most biologically important regions on the planet. But these ecosystems are vanishing at an alarming pace, along with riverbank collapse, which has led to coastal communities losing their homes. Researchers believe that this is because the Vietnam Mekong Delta is currently being robbed of its very foundations - sand.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Rachel Lau, Research Assistant, National Institute of Education, Earth Observatory of Singapore, NTU and Assistant Professor Edward Park, National Institute of Education & Principal Investigator, Earth Observatory of Singapore, NTU weigh in on why the Mekong Delta is drowning in 'sand debt'. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credit: NTU Music/sound credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Soil is often an overlooked aspect of nature. Now, if you dig deeper, you’d realise that healthy soils serve not just as the backbone of safe and sustainable agriculture, but also helps with carbon sequestration.  In many parts of the world however, poor management and climate change have led to soil degradation and a huge amount of carbon released by the top layer soil over the past 12,000 years. On today’s Climate Connections, Aadith Moorthy, CEO & Founder of Boomitra, and 2023 Earthshot Prize Winner shares how his company is working with farmers to reverse that through technology & soil credits.  Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credit: Boomitra Carbon Farming in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (Credit: Boomitra) Music/sound credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Through half a million years of isolation, primates of the Mentawai Islands evolved into five distinct species, totally different from their relatives on the nearest mainland, Sumatra. These endemic species include the pig-tailed snub-nosed langur, Mentawai gibbon, Mentawai langur, Pagai macaque, and Siberut macaque. Except for the last, the other four species are Critically Endangered or Endangered, as red-listed by the IUCN. And with the threat from logging and clearing for oil palm and timber plantations growing, the survival of the forests of Mentawai and these primates is dimming.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Andie Ang, Head, Primate Conservation & Singapore Programmes, Mandai Nature and Professor Rizaldi, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Andalas University share more details on their research into these endangered primates, and how they are developing a conservation plan to save them.  Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo: Adult male Presbytis potenziani (Golden-bellied Mentawai Island Langur or simply 'Mentawai Langur') encountered one morning in degraded primary forest on South Pagai island in 2023.  (Credit: Dr Andie Ang) Music/sound credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Difference in standards across countries and regions can sometimes make sustainability reporting tricky. So how can such differences be better reconciled?  Simon Schillebeeckx, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Handprint and Ramki Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, Temenos APAC share about the challenges involved in collecting, streamlining and ensuring quality of ESG data, and how knowing how to identify impact projects can help companies with their ESG initiatives.  Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Music/sound credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors  Photo credit: HandprintSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changes in climate and the effects resulting from climate change control how plants grow, how animals behave, which organisms thrive, and how they interact with the physical environment, especially within forests. Through the fossils that ancient forests left behind, scientists who have tracked their movements over decades say that heat stress is one of key factors pushing forests to migrate. But with global warming rising at an unprecedented rate, can forests move fast enough to escape climate change?  On this episode of Climate Connections, Shawn Lum, Senior Lecturer, Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University shares his insights on the resilience levels of plant species in forests and how tropical forests are holding up compared with their counterparts. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Music/sound credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors  Photos: Yeo Kai TingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.