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SINGAPORE – The impact of climate change is here and now, with Singapore already experiencing the hottest day in 40 years on May 13 when the mercury hit 37 deg C, while 2022 was one of the wettest years since 1980.

While the science of climate change may still be evolving and people continue to learn about the full extent of its effects, we must take action now, said National Development MinisterDesmondLee on Wednesday, as he outlined what the country is doing to decarbonise as well as fortify its defences against climate change impacts.

He said more than 20 per cent of Singapores carbon emissions come from buildings and some of the ways to cut emissions there is to harness electricity from green energy sources and build sustainable towns, districts and buildings.

It is therefore absolutely critical for us to find innovative ways to flatten the emissions curve brought about by urbanisation, Mr Lee said, on the second day of the EcosperityWeekconference at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

He cited the Singapore Green Building Masterplan, which charts out the aim of greening 80 per cent of buildings by gross floor area and ensuring that 80 per cent of new buildings will be classified as super-low energy by 2030.

The third target is to allow for the best-in-class green buildings to have an 80 per cent improvement in energy efficiency by 2030, compared with the standards in 2005, with the help of research and innovation.

In mid-2022, the Green Mark Incentive Scheme was launched to help building owners tap grants to retrofit their buildings and make them more energy-efficient.

Despite the 2030 targets, a report released in April by Schneider Electric and the Singapore Green Building Councilsaid three in five companies here are not familiar with the concept of green buildings.

Singapore aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a key driver of that will be greening energy sources by harnessing solar power, regional power grids and hydrogen fuel, said Mr Lee.

According to a report on South-east Asias green economy released on Tuesday, there are significant challenges related to the higher capital costs of making green investments, especially in renewables, due to the concern about insufficient returns.

Mr Lee highlighted how new neighbourhoods such as Jurong Lake District are planned with sustainability as a priority.

Touted as Singapores second central business district, Jurong Lake District will be car-lite and served by a centralised district cooling network that uses less energy for the same amount of cooling.

Recently, a Jurong Lake District innovation challenge was launched to get companies and research institutes to come up with solutions to address issues related to reducing emissions and energy usage, managing waste and realising the car-lite vision. Some of the ways to cut emissions is to harness electricity from green energy sources. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG But these innovations cannot progress and scale up unless building developers, facilities managers, infrastructure agencies and customers buy in to the ideas and facilitate them, said Mr Lee, during a chat with planning and design firm Arups cities business leader for South-east Asia, MrChintanRaveshia.

While much has been discussed about greening the urban environment, the minister added that the blue spaces the marine environment and seas must not be forgotten.

Unlike land, a lot of blue spaces are global commons. They have the potential to sequester so much carbon. On the other hand, if you exploit them relentlessly, they will be emitters. They are a tremendous supply of food… A lot of solutions can be found by harnessing the energy of the high seas and oceans, if you do so sensitively, he said. More On This Topic Breakthroughs in three areas, including redirecting finance to climate action, key to net-zero goals How Singapore plans to boost climate resilience

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Business

Honeymoon couple unable to access their money online as Barclays suffers major IT glitch

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February 1, 2025

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Honeymoon couple unable to access their money online as Barclays suffers major IT glitch

A newlywed couple say they have been locked out of their bank accounts while on their honeymoon as Barclays suffered a major IT glitch.

Read latest on Barclays glitch:
Bank tells customers to contact family or foodbanks

People were unable to access money overnight after the issue struck on what was payday for many British workers.

Hundreds of customers reportedly claim they are experiencing interrupted services and missing funds, with some alleging they have had no access to their cash for nearly 24 hours.

David Marsh and his wife, from Cumbria, told Sky News they’ve been experiencing problems accessing their money while on holiday in Australia to celebrate their marriage.

“I’m unable to receive money for my honeymoon into my current account or use my current account to clear my credit card before departing,” he said.

“My message to Barclays is: I’ve been a current account holder with Barclays since 1986. The day I return to the UK, I will be moving my current account to another provider and leaving them.”

More on Barclays

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A closed Barclays branch in Swindon following the IT issues on 1 February 2025
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A closed Barclays branch in Swindon following the IT issues

A sign at a Barclays branch in Swindon on 1 February 2025
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A sign at the Barclays branch in Swindon advising customers

What has Barclays said?

Barclays has apologised to customers, saying the company is facing ongoing technical issues.

It warned that some people may see an outdated balance, and payments made or received may not show.

“We will ensure that no customer is left out of pocket,” the bank said in a statement on Saturday.

Mum ‘unable to buy milk’

A mother claimed she was unable to buy milk for her baby due to the IT glitch.

“My four-month-old is out of milk powder and screaming for a feed and I still haven’t been paid,” she said.

She added: “I’ve been in tears for hours.”

A Barclays branch in London. File Pic: AP
Image:
A Barclays branch in London. File pic: AP

‘Money never arrived in my account’

Karen Bannister, 52, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, told Sky News: “I had transferred all my money into Barclays to cover paying for gas, electric, rent, petrol, food etc. The money never arrived in my Barclays account.

She added: “My card got declined at the supermarket which was completely embarrassing and by 9pm I was without heating because my gas had run out.”

“Yesterday was awful. Barclays need to pay compensation to those affected. People were without salary and some couldn’t pay their tax before the deadline.

“Following this, I’m leaving Barclays – and I’ve been a customer for 40 years.”

Read more from Sky News:
‘I bought my dream home for £35,000’
Should we be worried about our drinking water?

Frustrated customers have also been reaching out to Barclays support via social media.

“Due to you Barclays I’m left without money had a food shop due for delivery this morning which now will get cancelled, leave my four kids with no food it’s a joke as (it is) my money,” one X user claimed.

Another added: “How can I eat and keep warm if I can’t get to my funds?”

A third person claimed: “Well I’ve just had to put all my shopping back in Tesco never been so embarrassed in my life .. as can’t access my own money.”

The Down Detector tracker has shown more than 1,600 reports of outages for Barclays banking services since Friday.

In its statement on Saturday, Barclays said: “We’re incredibly sorry for the ongoing technical issues that are impacting our customers’ accounts.

“Some may see an outdated balance, and payments made or received may not show.

“We’re working hard to fix this issue, and customers should not try to make the payment again.”

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Politics

Wall Street is betting on $30T RWA tokenization market prospects

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2 hours ago

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February 1, 2025

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Wall Street is betting on T RWA tokenization market prospects

Wall Street giants are betting on the projected $30 trillion RWA tokenization market as the industry sees explosive growth and widespread adoption across TradFi institutions.

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US

Trump says US airstrikes have ‘killed many’ ISIS terrorists

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2 hours ago

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February 1, 2025

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Trump says US airstrikes have 'killed many' ISIS terrorists

Donald Trump has said “many” ISIS terrorists have been killed in caves by US airstrikes he ordered this morning.

Posting on his social media site Truth Social, the US president said: “This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia.

“These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies.

“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.”

Mr Trump did not name any of the people targeted in the strikes or give further details about the location.

He said the US military had targeted the attack planner for years, but former president Joe Biden “and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done”.

“I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!”

US special forces killed a senior ISIS leader and 10 other militants in a raid on a mountain cave complex in a remote part of northern Somalia in 2023, in an operation ordered by Mr Biden.

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