Challenges

Sustainability and climate transition have become one of the greatest existential challenges facing countries today. We are witnessing the impact of climate change in different parts of the world. It is a complex challenge that requires collective global action and a multifaceted response. However, many developing countries lack sufficient capacity to deal with many of the challenges brought about by climate change. The importance of capacity building for developing countries to effectively address climate change is recognized in various international agreements and documents, including the Paris Agreement and the SAMOA Pathway.

The consequences of climate change are far reaching and affect all countries. They include more frequent extreme weather events, food shortages, forced migration and the emergence of new diseases. Like many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Singapore is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, in particular, rising sea levels and surface temperatures.

Toward a Solution

The Government of Singapore strongly believes in the value of capacity building as the best means for fellow developing countries to help each other. The sharing of experiences and best practices has a multiplier effect by allowing participants to learn, adapt and impart knowledge to other policymakers and practitioners with their own countries over the long term.

In 2018, Singapore launched the Climate Action Package (CAP) under the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). The CAP aims to build the capacities of fellow developing countries in areas such as climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, disaster risk management and stormwater management, with a view to helping them fulfil their Paris Agreement pledges. Most CAP courses are conducted in Singapore, sometimes in partnership with other countries and United Nations agencies. The expertise of various Singapore Government agencies are pooled to organize and deliver the programmes, and the course content is jointly curated with United Nations agencies, where applicable. Over 1,100 officials from over 130 countries and territories have attended CAP courses.

Singapore shares its development experiences, best practices, learning points and latest innovations, with fellow developing countries through the SCP. Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving the SDGs, participants are encouraged to share their own experiences to enrich the learning experience and to adapt what they have learned to suit their own national circumstances. Outcomes observed from our capacity-building programmes include: a) participants imparting knowledge to people in their network; b) building networks of like-minded people to share best practices; and c) participant requests for follow-up training and workshops, customized for their own countries’ needs. Since 1992, we have hosted close to 150,000 government officials from over 180 countries and territories in SCP programmes.

An example of a CAP-customised course was Singapore’s partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) to run a programme for participating states of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) on ‘Understanding Risk Management and Risk Financing for Disaster Resilience’ in June 2019. This Training of Trainers course sought to enhance cooperation and increase disaster risk-informed development planning, preparedness and recovery in the Caribbean. At the end of the course, UNDRR created a facilitation guide to support participants to replicate the course in their home countries. Given positive feedback, another run of the programme was conducted in February 2022.

Another example of a workshop conducted under the CAP is the ‘Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions’ workshop that took place in January 2020 in Singapore. The workshop was co-hosted by the NDC Partnership, with support from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat and the 2050 Pathways Platform. Participants found the workshop to be helpful in guiding their application of agreed UNFCCC reporting guidelines, as well as in the accounting and tracking of the progress of their countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Furthermore, participants also expressed that the workshop provided an encouraging platform for NDC administrators to share valuable experiences. In the longer term, with sustained participation, workshop attendees can build and develop a cadre of officers oriented towards sustainable development, who could then influence and implement policies to boost collective climate change efforts.

Singapore is constantly looking for opportunities to expand its partnerships with new and existing agencies. For instance, Singapore partners with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to conduct programmes supporting Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). In 2019, based on UNICEF’s revised Water, Sanitation and Hygiene mandate, Singapore invited UNICEF to work on the design of a CAP course on ‘Sustainable Integrated Water Resources and Stormwater Management”. The course was conducted in November 2021 and September 2022.  

The CAP was launched as a three-year programme until 2021. But given the strong interest and positive feedback on the courses, it was extended a further two years until 2023. It is this achievement that encourages Singapore to remain committed to strengthening the global partnership for sustainable development through technical assistance initiatives.