Singapore contingent at COP26 includes government officers, academics and activists

The COP26 meeting aims to finalise details of how the Paris Agreement can be implemented. PHOTO: AFP

GLASGOW - Singapore will be represented at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, which kicked off on Sunday (Oct 31), by a contingent of government officials, business leaders, academics and young activists.

The governmental delegation, led by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, will be involved in negotiations spanning a broad range of topics, including carbon markets, technology, international transport emissions, as well as land use and agriculture.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said: "The Singapore delegation will contribute to the respective work streams and work with all parties towards an ambitious and balanced outcome at COP26."

She declined to reveal the size of the government group but it includes representatives from MSE and associated statutory boards - the National Environment Agency and Singapore Food Agency - as well as from the National Climate Change Secretariat, Attorney-General's Chambers, Economic Development Board, National Parks Board, and the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, and Transport.

Ms Fu will also be delivering Singapore's National Statement next week, co-facilitating ministerial negotiations on carbon markets and meeting her ministerial counterparts bilaterally.

In 2015, almost 200 nations adopted the Paris Agreement, which set out goals for limiting global warming, but not how they could be achieved.

After three years of negotiations, nations agreed in 2018 to adopt the Paris Rulebook - a guide on how the agreement can be implemented - at COP24 in Poland. The COP26 meeting aims to finalise details of how the Paris Agreement can be implemented.

Ms Esther An, chief sustainability officer of real estate company CDL, will also be attending the conference and speaking at the Built Environment Leaders Panel on Nov 11.

CDL is also funding a series of programmes by Ms Cheryl Lee and Ms Swati Mandloi, both members of non-governmental group Singapore Youth for Climate Action, to produce a video and other communication materials aimed at turning climate anxiety into positive action, said Ms An.

Ms Lee and Ms Mandloi, both 26, will also be attending COP26.

Said Ms An: "The project aims to promote positive thinking and creative collaboration for climate solutions among youth, showing that everyone can play a positive role in this global race to net zero."

Ms Mandloi said they hope to communicate the state of negotiations to young people in Singapore through hybrid events in Glasgow that are live-streamed to Singapore, raise awareness on issues such as eco-anxiety, green jobs and climate education, as well as meet other young people from Asia.

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