Sustainability &Leadership  Mr. Howard Shaw Executive Director Singapore Environment Council

LIVING PLANET INDEX

WORLD CO2 EMISSIONS FROM FOSSIL FUELS

Energy Demand 

By 2050:

•9 billion people, 2.5 billion more than today 

•2 billion cars, double the number today   

•China and India dominate Asia’s energy demand, with China alone accounting for 40 % of primary energy needs; China will be responsible for 60 % of emissions 

•Double the energy, using twice as much energy as now                

      

• Surge in energy demand

• Supply of Resources will struggle to keep pace

• Environmental stressesare increasing

Three hard truths will shape the future of the ecosystem

Energy & Climate ChangeImpacts from climate change:

• Temperature rise • sea level rise• massive biodiversity loss• increase of extreme events• Depletion of fresh water resources • Increase of vector born diseases • economic and social instabilities

….

Climate change is real and a very serious threat to global stability

The greatest challenge of the 21st century

People at the heart of the storylines … individually and collectively

• People choose the easiest

option for them

• Fear is not enough to

change behaviours

• Climate change is too difficult

• Delegating action to the state

• Adapt rather than change

Solution: Biofuel Generation from Algae

• The current biofuel production process is highly unsustainable (land use, energy requirements) => negative impact on agriculture

• Biofuel generated from algae could solve these issues:

- saving in energy      - saving in land use      - high yield

• Fuel of the future?

Solution: Carbon Sequestration

• Sequestrating carbon emissions underground is a safe process

• Similar technology used for theextraction of natural gas can be applied

• The carbon will remain trapped for millions of years

Solution: Renewable Energies on a Large Scale

A combine use of renewable energy sources could meet our current energy needs:

- Solar energy (photovoltaic and thermal)- Hydroelectric energy- Wind energy- Geothermal energy- Ocean Thermal energy- Ocean wave energy- Tidal and currents energy 

These technologies are available today …

We must however rapidly make the shift going away from fossil fuel based energies

Solution: Sustainable Transportation

• Transportation accounts for almost one third of all greenhouse gas emissions

• Improving energy efficiency and emission reducing technologies within transport is a priority

- Hybrids- Fuel cells - CNG vehicles - Mass public transportation

-  Human energy vehicles- Solar and wind energy vehicles 

• 0 – 60 mph in 3.9 Secs

• 244 mile range

• 2 X more efficient than a Prius

Tesla Roadster

Source: McKinsey & Company - Pathways to a Low Carbon Economy 2009

Hope: Nuclear Fusion• Currently used nuclear fission is a clean process

when it comes to emissions but it generates radioactive waste and poses security risks

• Fusion is the energy of the future by excellence• Clean process occurring within the sun• It can be done

• Major problems remaining to be solved:

- Maintaining a stable reaction- Confining the extremely hot plasma

• We might be able to harvest fusion energy in 50 years time However, our climate will not wait…other alternatives must be

put into place

WasteFacts:

• Cities are growing fast

• Landfills are reaching saturation/ incineration produces emissions

• Waste has a lot of value but is not exploited

• We must shift from a global unsustainable waste management model to a sustainable one

Garbage OutputWaste Output 2002: 7,677 tonnes/dayWaste Output 2002: 7,677 tonnes/day• Equivalent toEquivalent to 1,1001,100 truck loads!truck loads!

Equivalent to 2.8 million tonnes/yrIf stacked to an average man’s height

(1.7m), it would occupy 350 football fields

Tuas South Incineration Plant

Waste Disposal at Pulau Semakau

Pulau Semakau Landfill:

•Completed 1999

•Cost: $610 million

•Life Span : 30 years

•350 hectare

Pulau Semakau Yesterday – 5 Nov 2009

Solution: Waste to Energy

• By 2050 80% of the world population will be living in mega cities

• The tremendous amount of waste generated can be valued

• Entire cities can be powered out of energy generated from waste

- Capture of gases (CO2 & CH4)- Use of heat energy generated from the 

decomposition process 

Solution: Waste Engineering

• Non-traditional waste recovery

• Bio-plastics

• Hi-Tech & Hi Value Add

Solution: Traditional Recycling

• Value waste • Use of recycled content within

products • Reduce massive consumerisms

1) Educating the community2) Implementation of infrastructures to 

treat the waste accordingly  

Technology will not solve all our problems, we must also change our behaviors

Nature & conservationFacts:

. Species are going extinct at least 1000 times faster than the natural rate

• We could lose 30-40% of all species on the planet through the impacts of climate change alone by the end of the century

• At the current rate primary forests will have completely disappeared in places such as Borneo or PNG within 20-30 years

Solution: Sustainable Cities

• Cities of the future must incorporate nature (green walls, green roof tops, natural parks, connectors)

• Green buildings (energy efficiency)• Good water management • Good waste management

Most importantly, biodiversity and natural ecosystems around cities should be preserved at all costs

They have a critical role to play

…

Solution: Learning from Nature

• We have a lot to learn from our environment:

We must understand that there is tremendous amount of knowledge which will disappear with the loss of biodiversity

- Potential remedies and medicines - Potential for optimal design (biomimetics) 

• The preservation of biodiversity is crucial in our own interest

Biomimetics is the study of nature to come up with innovative ideas and optimal designs

We know more about our solar system them we do about life in the deep oceans of our own planet!

Solution: Valuing Nature

• There is a lot of economical gain in preserving our environment:

Revenues generated from:• Ecotourism • Agroforestry • Medicines

• We must learn to work with our environment and not against it

The destruction and loss of natural ecosystems will end up costing much more than their destruction for short term profit

Awareness• In order to judge we need to know what we are losing• Sharing of knowledge => Snow-Ball effect • Awareness is primordial• Small actions by individuals can lead to significant changes if applied on a large scale

Share your knowledge

You are in a position to influence people

Schools’ Green Audit Awards• Schools achieve awards of varying levels

based on their performance in environmental audits.

Project Carbon Zero

180 in contest trial. Average: 22% reduction

www.climatechange.sg

Current Model vs. Future Sustainable Society

• At the current rate we will need at least 2 planet Earth by 2050

• Our current business model Is not sustainable

WITHDRAWALS

USE OF RESOURCES

POLLUTION

DEPOSITS

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

NATURAL RESTORATION

OUR BANK

WITHDRAWALS

USE OF RESOURCES

POLLUTION

DEPOSITS

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

NATURAL RESTORATION

Thank you for your attention

www.sec.org.sg

The SEC team