The Future of Water – Conversations from Singapore

The Future of Water – Conversations from Singapore: This month we bring you the juiciest snippets on the future of water from our in-person conversations with global leaders during the 11,000 attendee strong SIWW & CESG 2022. From one-on-one interviews with the IWA President, IPCC Co-Chair of Working Group II and the man who makes SIWW happen to key takeaways from Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, global water leaders on building resilience and our session to how to futureproof cities to Avoid Atlantis – see how the new future waterscape is being shaped…

Climate change was front and centre of the conversations at the event this year. And given that water is how we will feel climate change, it was great to see SIWW, a “water event”, embrace the times to curate a more holistic approach to water security in a changing climate.

The President of the International Water Association, Tom Mollenkopf who has been attending the event since the first SIWW in 2008, was clear in our interview with him that climate change is the biggest threat facing not just the water sector but the world.

And while climate impacts will hit the water sector directly, Mollenkopf says there is much utilities can already do to adapt & mitigate. Find out how IWA is galvanising its network to tackle climate challenges.

And who better to talk to about climate challenges than the IPCC Co-Chair of Working Group II, Dr Debra Roberts who was invited to attend SIWW, another indicator of climate’s pervasiveness in today’s water conversations. We were also lucky to have Dr Roberts sit on our panel.

“I think the biggest challenge for the water sector is that climate change takes no prisoners. It impacts every aspect of the water sector… Having said that I think there is a huge opportunity in the water sector…”, said Dr Roberts. Get more details in our interview with her. Plus, see why she says transformative change is needed everywhere and how cities have a catalytic role to play.

As a “Thematic Partner” of SIWW to foster future water resilience, CWR conducted 13 video interviews of water leaders – CEOs/ Presidents of water utilities, development banks and global solution providers. These videos are currently being edited but stay tuned, they will be out on SIWW+, Singapore’s new digital content hub for all things water. CWR’s Dawn McGregor was also interviewed live on Channel NewsAsia.

The four plenary sessions of the Water Leaders Summit also echoed the water-climate intersection. From net zero water to sea level rise (SLR) and floods to droughts, see what the world’s water experts have to say on tackling these challenges ahead.

CWR sat on the fourth plenary of this Summit to discuss global water megatrends. See what trends were voted to the list and which the expert’s thought were missed. Don’t miss out on the must-know trends and where the opportunities lie.

Meanwhile, Singapore continued to impress as a regional leader in the water space. Minister Fu is clearly on top of the latest climate science and the enormity of the challenges ahead. Drawing key points from the IPCC AR6 reports during her opening keynote she recommends three key actions as a way forward to build resilience – see what these are in our SIWW key takeaways.

Minister Fu also called for more adaptation finance. Clearly, we are on the same page as our seminar was curated to discuss just that – “Futureproofing Cities to Avoid Atlantis – Evolving Finance for Adaptation Solutions”.

We were pleased to have Singapore’s Director for Coastal Protection, Hazel Khoo from PUB, open our seminar. She kicked off the two-hour discussion by laying out hard truths about SLR and shared insights that reinforced Singapore’s leadership on coastal defence. Check out how the Singapore government is planning to finance SGD100 billion of coastal protection.

Frank discussions were also had by panellists across the finance sector – BIS, Citibank, Japan’s FSA, Manulife Investment Management Asia & Moody’s. Can the right levels of stress testing close gaps in adaptation finance? What are private sector adaptation finance options? See their views here.

More importantly are sea front properties still bankable? What steps can we take to adapt and thrive? Will we have to abandon parts of the city? See what Link REIT, Ramboll, Singapore and New York City have to say.

Clearly there is still so much to do and with climate threats accelerating adaptation action is more and more urgent. The good news is that SIWW has kick started these conversations and we can expect more to come. And these conversations can drive momentum according to SIWW Managing Director Ryan Yuen. So, take a sneak peak at what’s going to happen next year.

We left Singapore assured that the water-climate-coastal risks conversation is well underway, and more than that Singapore is putting its money where its mouth is. SGD5 billion has already been raised and earmarked for coastal and flood protection pilots.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong things are moving slower but importantly there is more noise on the topic. Do watch SCMP’s short documentary on SLR in Hong Kong that features the IPCC Chairman, Hoesung Lee, and CWR’s Dr CT Low & Dharisha Mirando.

With heatwaves in India reaching 50°C and a 50% chance of meeting 1.5°C in the next five years, climate change waits for no one. We must ramp up these cross-cutting conversations on the future of water.