By Adil
When I joined SYCA not long ago, I was excited to play a part in climate activism, yet also skeptical about whether it was going to amount to anything. Both of those feelings have only intensified since then.
Then again, when I started volunteering with TWC2, I was told stories of how TWC2 was often unsuccessful in getting the government to mandate that migrant workers’ salaries be paid electronically rather than in cash to prevent employers from illegally withholding them. Yet only weeks ago the government did just that, stung into action by how badly COVID-19 had affected migrant workers. Crises, as bad as they are, can provoke positive action.
One might argue, of course, that the climate crisis is already ongoing, and yet we’re not seeing as swift a response from governments as the response to COVID-19. Then again, the risk of a pandemic occurring has been well-known for ages; the swift response is provoked only when the pandemic actually happens, and the crisis reaches its peak. While climate activism cannot afford to wait until the climate crisis reaches its peak before springing into action, we should plan for how we can turn a crisis into an opportunity for greater action when that peak inevitably arrives.
But this line of thinking only led me to the next question – what would that plan look like? What specific demands should we be fighting for? In the Singapore context, our power plants and petrochemical industry are the biggest emissions sources. Expanding our renewable energy capacity is hard, however, and calls to shut down the petrochemical industry sound radical and unpersuasive to the government, as well as Singaporeans in general, who fear the loss of jobs and thus livelihoods.
If Singaporeans and the Singapore government fears taking such radical steps, I wonder if they would at least be willing to take intermediate ones. A halt to further expansion of our petrochemical industry is in itself quite radical, given that our country is obsessed – perhaps rightly, perhaps wrongly – with growth. But it is an easier pill to swallow, at least for now. Perhaps our country could also consider creating another one of our famed masterplans for growing our renewable energy industry to replace the petrochemical industry as a source of economic growth. We grew our petrochemicals industry out of nothing, and with much vigor – perhaps we can do the same for renewables.
I suppose, in summary, that COVID-19 has reminded me of the worth of two key values. The first is persistence, in finding new ways to advocate for climate action in the face of failure. The second is patience, in preparing for the big moment of change that I believe will eventually come, even though we’re – admittedly – running out of time.
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