Page 6 - Towards A Sustainable Future , Phase 3 2025, E-Book_Neat

FOREWORD

Prof Jeff Obbard

Climate Change Advisor
National Youth Achievement Award Council

Now in its third year, the HSBC-NYAA ITE Sustainability For Singapore—a low-lying, densely populated island
Initiative “Towards a Sustainable Future: In support of city-state—these risks are especially pronounced.
the Singapore Green Plan 2030” has firmly demonstrated
the relevance and impact of our ‘Triple Win Formula’. This Singapore’s response has been proactive and united.
formula—reducing carbon emissions, lowering business Under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, the government,
operational costs, and training Singapore’s youth for the private sector, civil society, and community stakeholders
burgeoning green economy—continues to prove that have come together to build a low-carbon, climate-
environmental sustainability, economic efficiency, and resilient future. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement,
youth empowerment are mutually reinforcing goals. Singapore is committed to reaching net-zero emissions
by around mid-century. But time is of the essence. The
The urgency of this work has never been clearer. The IPCC has issued an unequivocal call for immediate, deep,
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in and sustained emissions reductions to avoid the most
its most recent global climate assessment, warned that dangerous impacts of climate change.
climate change is now rapid, widespread, and intensifying
across every region of the world. The year 2024 marked Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) form the
an alarming milestone: for the first time, global average backbone of Singapore’s economy, representing over
temperatures exceeded the 1.5°C threshold set by the 230,000 businesses and employing nearly 90% of the
2015 Paris Agreement—an international guardrail to workforce. However, these enterprises face significant
avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate hurdles in navigating evolving sustainability regulations,
disruption. As one of the most climate-vulnerable meeting supply chain expectations, and reporting their
regions, Southeast Asia faces increasing risks from carbon footprints. For many, this is an intimidating and
extreme weather events and rising sea levels. resource-intensive undertaking.

4