Green Pulse The Straits Times

As more carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, the urgency is growing for safe and sustainable methods to remove this main greenhouse gas from the air to limit the impact of climate change. 
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
CO2 is the main greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. We can’t see it, we can’t smell it but we can definitely feel its growing impacts as the planet heats up with devastating consequences. And every year, it keeps accumulating. 
Human activity is producing about 40 billion tonnes of CO2 a year. That’s mainly from burning fossil fuels and deforestation. 
To fight climate change, we not only need to slash CO2 emissions, we would also need to remove billions of tonnes that our human activities had earlier emitted into the atmosphere. 
And that means dramatically scaling up carbon dioxide removal technologies. We’ll never reach the Paris Agreement’s climate targets by 2050 unless we remove at least four times more CO2 from the atmosphere every year than we do at present.
That’s the conclusion of a major study on carbon dioxide removal released in June 2024. 
So what exactly is carbon dioxide removal, or CDR? And what is needed to really get investment pumping?
In this episode, ST's climate change editor David Fogarty hosts one of the lead authors of the report, Gregory Nemet, a Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs in the United States.  Greg studies the process of technological change and the ways in which public policy can affect it.
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
1:44 How does carbon dioxide removal (CDR) help in the fight against climate change?
3:12 The difference between CDR and carbon capture and storage (CCS)
4:58 Main findings from the recently published global report on CDR 
7:58 Examples of the different types of CDR 
11:43 What are the costs?
19:55 What are the environmental risks from CDR? How to ensure scaled-up methods can be sustainable?
Produced by: David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis & Hadyu Rahim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
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Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
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ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
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Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
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Humans can and must cooperate to manage climate-driven mass migration, as a heating planet forces the poor and vulnerable, particularly in the global south, to move in order to survive. 
Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
The concept of the modern nation state is a relatively recent construct, and distorts humans' innate capacity - notwithstanding our tribalism - to cooperate. Yet, a collective response is necessary to manage the mass migration of the most vulnerable groups of people in poorer countries escaping from the adverse effects of climate change, said award-winning writer Gaia Vince. 
In this episode of Green Pulse, the author of Adventures in the Anthropocene and Nomad Century tells Nirmal Ghosh that the solution to dealing with looming mass emigration of desperate climate refugees is to redefine the concept of nations and citizenship, rather than turn them away. 
But nationalism defined in terms of ethnicity  - also known as ethnonationalism - is on the rise across the globe, observes Ms Vince. She argues that there is no basis for different races as the collective fate of societies is shared by global citizens of planet earth.  
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
2:02 "When a severe storm hit New York City, it was the poor black people living in basement apartments who drowned and died" - how climate change has a threat multiplier effect for the poorest and the most marginalised 
5:02 Ethno-nationalism is a social disease - it's not based on biology 
6:48 Climate change will only be solved when the human race come together as a species and address these global issues
13:46 Why easing human labour across borders can help to make emigration more gradual and safer 
17:20 Why our human food system, rather than climate change, makes the biggest assault on biodiversity loss
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Fa'izah Sani and Hadyu Rahim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
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Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read ST's Climate Change microsite: https://www.straitstimes.com/climate-change
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Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
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Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
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While the future Long Island will guard against sea level rise, the trade-offs to marine life and the East Coast’s character must be addressed, stakeholders told host Shabana Begum. 
Synopsis (headphones recommended): By end-century, Singapore’s mean sea level is expected to rise by up to 1.15m. Now a top attraction in the area, East Coast Park would be a place to avoid if nothing is done. 
Frequent floods are likely to put the beach underwater in the future, as climate change continues to exacerbate rising sea levels. And if exceptionally high tides or storm surges were to hit, seawater levels could rise up to 5m, breaking through the coast. The entire park, East Coast Parkway, vehicles and void decks at housing estates like Marine Parade in the vicinity could be submerged in water. 
To prevent this reality, there are plans to have a defence offshore. That is Long Island, twice the size of Marina Bay reclaimed off the east coast, with a reservoir in between.
But such a mega project raises many uncertainties and questions. How would reclamation for Long Island change the East Coast landscape? What are the implications for nature and marine life nearby? What do young people - who will live to see the project taking shape - have to say? 
As the June 14 oil spill has shown, human activity - if not managed properly - can threaten coastal and marine habitats, including the biodiversity-rich Southern Islands. 
In this second episode of Green Trails, our team heads to East Coast Park and a lesser known habitat near Marina Barrage - important to threatened species and likely to be threatened by reclamation - to find answers. 
At the heart of East Coast Park, ST journalist Shabana Begum meets with representatives from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and National Water Agency PUB - Mr Lee Wai Kin and Mr Thoo Jung Chee. Both agencies are spearheading the Long Island project.
At the little-known Marina East Drive habitat, Shabana uncovers the wildlife there when she takes a walk with Mr Lester Tan, who chairs Nature Society (Singapore)’s Marine Conservation Group.
In the evening, Shabana returns to East Coast Park to speak with Mr Maximus Tan, 22 and Mr Crispus Tan, 27. These youths - who will live to see Long Island taking shape in the next few decades - voice their aspirations for Long Island. 
Read our previous article about Long Island: https://str.sg/ixC7
Find out more about the mega project here: https://str.sg/6zoP
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:43 What will happen to East Coast if nothing is done to protect the shoreline? 
4:00 How will Long Island defend Singapore from rising sea levels?
11:07 How will the authorities minimise the impact of reclamation on marine life? 
16:13 What are the lesser-known biodiversity havens of the East Coast?
22:04 Lester on whether marine life along East Coast will eventually return post-reclamation
26:22 Reactions from Crispus and Maximus on East Coast's changing landscape
32:53 Crispus and Maximus on life on Long Island, their hopes and ideas
Listen to other Green Trails episodes: 
Ep 1: A visit to Sungei Buloh - https://str.sg/BrqS
Host: Shabana Begum (nshab@sph.com.sg)
Trail producers: Lynda Hong, Hadyu Rahim, Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Executive Producers: Ernest Luis (ernest@sph.com.sg) & Audrey Tan (audreyt@sph.com.sg)
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here every 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month:
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Follow Shabana on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/FEid
Read her articles: https://str.sg/5EGd
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Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pu

South-East Asia has big plans to become a regional carbon storage hub. Can it work or are the risks too great?
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
For years now, we’ve heard a lot about carbon capture and storage as one possible solution to climate change. CCS, as it is known, involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions from polluting operations, such as power plants, refineries and steel and cement production and injecting the CO2 deep underground. 
And not just anywhere. It has to be the right type of geological formation to ensure the CO2 doesn’t escape. 
But CCS hasn’t taken off quite as well as many, especially those in the fossil fuel industry, had hoped for. There have been several very costly failures.
And yet there are plans to greatly scale up CCS, including the creation of regional CCS hubs. One of these is in South-east Asia, using depleted oil and gas wells. 
This would lock away CO2 captured from industries in the region, or, CO2 brought in by tanker ships from major polluting nations such as Japan. So, is this a good idea? Can it make a difference in fighting climate change? Or, is it just storing up trouble for the future?
To tell ST's climate change editor David Fogarty more about this is energy sector expert Grant Hauber, advisor for Asia for the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, a US-based think tank. 
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
2:02 What is carbon capture and storage?
4:33 What are CCS hubs and can you explain the regional plans to create them?
8:43 CCS has been around for several decades. What have we learned?
17:10 And what about liability? Who’s responsible for any leaks?
21:01 CCS remains expensive. Will a high carbon price per tonne drive investment?
25:18 And what about alternative methods to remove CO2?
Produced by: David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis & Hadyu Rahim 
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
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Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Follow David Fogarty on X: https://str.sg/JLM6
Read his articles: https://str.sg/JLMu
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
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Local solutions are critical for vulnerable millions as the scorching heat rapidly melts snow and ice across the fragile "third pole".
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
As the planet warms, with north India’s plains sweltering under an unprecedented heat wave, Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than ever before. On current trends, glaciers in just the Eastern Himalayas, which include Nepal and Bhutan, will lose up to 75 per cent of their ice in the near future. 
The accelerated melt will expand existing glacial lakes, and form new ones. The new and enlarged lakes are a hazard as they can burst their banks and let loose all the water in flash floods downstream. In October 2023, a lake in Northern Sikkim breached, destroying an entire dam and 33 bridges downstream, killing scores of people. 
But that is only one aspect of the impact of planetary warming on the so-called Third Pole - which supplies water to around 1.5 billion people. The climate crisis is a water crisis which is already affecting half of Asia. 
In this episode, Green Pulse host Nirmal Ghosh discusses the complex factors at play, and their implications, with Kunda Dixit, the Kathmandu-based publisher of Nepali Times, and visiting faculty at NYU in Abu Dhabi where he focuses on climate; and Dr Bandana Shakya - also based in Kathmandu - who coordinates the Landscapes portfolio at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:34 There is plenty of water; just not where it’s needed
3:53 Data sharing is critical but the process is inadequate
7:17 Depopulation of some mountain districts is up to 30 per cent in the last 10 years
12:20 Appreciating potential of co-designing nature-based solutions
17:20 Sometimes scientific collaboration is much easier than political collaboration
18:33 One major concern now: Climate despair and climate anxiety among younger people
19:30 Failure of governance has led to large parts of the Himalayan region being in food deficit
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg) and Fa'izah Sani
Edited by: Fa'izah Sani
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
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Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read ST's Climate Change microsite: https://www.straitstimes.com/climate-change
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
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#greenpulse
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investors are on the hunt for companies that not only cut greenhouse gas emissions but also transform industry and society. 
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
There’s growing investor interest in companies at the cutting edge of green tech innovation. Specifically, companies whose solutions aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions while helping industry wean itself off fossil fuels and switch to greener and cleaner materials. 
More than ever, green-tech investment is needed. Much of the energy we use to produce electricity, power our industries and our cars produces emissions that are heating up the planet. It's like we're stuck in a vicious cycle as climate impacts worsen. 
The good news is there are private companies working on solutions that can provide green power to industries, boost battery efficiency, even create a new type of leather from mycelium, or fungal fibres. The green solutions out there are growing quickly as more entrepreneurs move into this space.
To find out more about this, ST's climate change editor David Fogarty hosts Meghan Sharp, global head of Decarbonization Partners, a joint venture between Blackrock and Temasek that invests in private companies working on clean energy, electrification, green materials and the circular, digital economy. 
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
1:34 Tell us about your role and what you look for in green-tech companies. 
2:46  What is the investment focus of Decarbonization Partners?
7:13 Of all the available types of green technology, which ones excite you the most?
13:34 Which emerging technologies will attract the most investment in the coming decade?
15:34 And is investment in green technology growing or is there still a large gap?
17:35 “For great companies, there will always be funding.”
Produced by: David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis & Hadyu Rahim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaf
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWaY
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Follow David Fogarty on X: https://str.sg/JLM6
Read his articles: https://str.sg/JLMu
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Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
---
#greenpulse
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.