Singapore will not claim from climate loss and damage fund despite facing rising sea levels: Grace Fu

Last month, it announced a plan to reclaim around 800ha of land – the size of over 1,000 football fields – on its east coast, as part of coastal protection measures.

As to whether Singapore will instead contribute to the loss and damage fund, Ms Fu said the country sees its role more as one that galvanises financing for nations at risk.

“There are countries that have sounded out their willingness to contribute to the fund. We very much welcome that, from the perspective of helping our fellow island states,” she said.

“But there are countries also that have (other) resources, such as in Singapore, I think our resources will be really in activating finance, activating technology, and bringing solutions to cities. So each one of us, if we are able to find our own way to contribute to climate action, I think that’s to be welcomed.”

PHASE DOWN OR PHASE OUT?

Ms Fu also addressed a major flashpoint in the COP28 climate talks, where the choice of language over whether to “phase down” or “phase out” fossil fuels remains under furious debate.

“We will have to work through the languages to find possible landing zones. We are trying to now find languages that can actually meet the needs of most parties, and this is a very democratic process,” she said.