World is in 'serious trouble' over global warming: MM LKY

The Straits Times, April 25, 2007
By Li Xueying


He says S'pore will do its part and show it is acting responsibly on the issue

COMMON INTEREST: MM Lee (right) called global warming a 'threat to humanity' and said it was a problem all countries face.






MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew warned yesterday that the world has left tackling the issue of global warming too late 'and we are all in serious trouble'.

Describing it as a 'threat to humanity', he said Singapore - small as it is - would do its part and show it was acting responsibly in dealing with the issue.

He was addressing some 100 financial and media professionals at a dialogue organised by media company Reuters to mark the opening of its premises at One Raffles Quay.

His comments on global warming were in response to a question on Singapore having the largest emission of greenhouse gases on a per capita basis in the world.

Responding, Mr Lee made clear his stance: 'I am a maniac when it comes to efficiency for doing things. And I think global warming is a threat to humanity.'

He said he asked his secretary to find out what accounted for Singapore's emissions. The answer was a simple one: Singapore is a manufacturing base for multinational corporations here.

'So that increase - it's not the Singapore population using it. It is the world population, the world market using Singapore through these multinationals to produce that.

'Will it go down? Yes, as we move from big bulky industries to smaller ones, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and more and more into services, I think the ratio will go down. But I am a great believer that we have to be part of the movement.'

Mr Lee did not specify what steps Singapore would take, but he noted how concerns about global warming were changing attitudes of leaders elsewhere.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard had shifted his position and, last month, pledged A$200 million (S$252 million) to a fund to check deforestation in Indonesia.

Said Mr Lee: 'I think it is quite clear that he is no longer of the view that you can ignore this. And his electorate will not ignore it.'

Similarly, the next United States president must persuade China and India to be part of the global effort. Their current position is: Developed countries polluted the earth as they progressed, and so it is their turn now.

'Somehow they have got to be convinced that if you don't do it - and the glaciers melt away in the Himalayas and in the mountain ranges in China - then three, four hundred million people will find their rivers and lakes gone dry, and what will you do with them?'

A report by the United Nations Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change released in February painted a bleak picture. It predicted that by 2100, temperatures will rise by 1.8 deg C to 4 deg C, and sea levels will rise by 18cm to 59cm.

Thus, global warming is a problem that all countries face. Singapore 'shares that common interest', said Mr Lee.

'We are into a very serious problem, if not 100 years, in 50 years, I won't be here but my grandchildren will be here.'

He also touched on how Indonesia had cited the disappearance of its islands as a reason for the sand ban this year - and juxtaposed it with the effects of global warming.

The latter could cause a 'pretty significant percentage' of Indonesia's 30,000 islands to disappear - resulting in the loss of liveable space, he said to laughter from the audience.

'So this is a very, very serious problem. We laugh, because the alternative is to tear your hair and cry.'