by Ganesh Sahathevan
Singapore's largest property developer CDL Properties is very serious about address climate change ,or in the words of its Executive Chairman Kwek Leng Beng, the climate emergency :
In the age of a climate emergency, the global race to net zero has never been more urgent. With buildings and construction accounting for some 40% of global emissions, the built sector is pivotal in the transition towards a low-carbon future.
CDL’s World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment and more ambitious carbon emissions reduction targets assessed and validated by the Science Based Target initiative marks a leap forward in our decarbonisation commitment.
With unwavering leadership dedication from the Board and top management for over two decades, we are poised to forge ahead in the new climate economy and build a better world for future generations.
That unwavering leadership has prompted the production of its annual Climate Change Scenario Analysis .
Its chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his board have identified :
- Top three physical risks3:
i) green construction cost
ii) maintenance cost (carbon price)
iii) potential revenue loss of green rental premium* - Top three transitional risks3:
i) energy cooling costs
ii) drop in labour productivity (construction cost increase)4
iii) insurance premium increase4
They have even quantified the risks:
- The likely estimated financial impact would be approximately S$120 million based on cost of inaction in addressing physical and transitional risks aligned with 1.5°C scenario in year 2030, against a 2019 baseline year.
Note however that the detailed analysis says nothing, is in fact shockingly silent , about the matter of rising sea levels, a matter considered so significant to Singapore's future that the government led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has put in place a S 100 Billion plan to build a seawall and elevate parts of the island.
However, as pointed out in a prior article on this blog, the sea wall is not likely to make much of a difference and in addition the problem of rising groundwater has not been addressed.
In light of the above CDL's likely estimated financial impact has to be well in excess of its estimated S$120 million.
TO BE READ WITH
Saturday, July 16, 2022
A seawall may not save Singapore from rising sea levels-The real problem may be rising groundwater that will make Singapore uninhabitable
by Ganesh Sahathevan
In December 2021 MIT's Technology Review published an article under the headline
How rising groundwater caused by climate change could devastate coastal communities : Higher sea levels will push the water table up with them, causing flooding, contamination, and all manner of unseen chaos.
The gist of the story is this:
For something you’ve probably never heard about, rising groundwater presents a real, and potentially catastrophic, threat to our infrastructure. Roadways will be eroded from below; septic systems won’t drain; seawalls will keep the ocean out but trap the water seeping up, leading to more flooding. Home foundations will crack; sewers will backflow and potentially leak toxic gases into people’s homes.
Any coastal area where “the land is really flat, and the geology is [the kind of] loose material that water moves through really easily,” says (Kristina Hill, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley), is “where this is really going to be a problem.” This includes places like Miami, but also Oakland, California, and Brooklyn, New York. Silicon Valley communities like Mountain View are susceptible to groundwater rise, as is Washington, DC. Worldwide, the area at risk includes portions of northwestern Europe and coastal areas of the United Kingdom, Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.
Hydrologists are aware of the problem and it’s all over the scholarly research, but it has yet to surface in a significant way outside of those bubbles.
The Government Of Singapore has made climate change mitigation a priority and has estimated that a 100 Billion Singapore dollars will be required for mitigation initiatives which are to include Dutch style polders, sea walls, and raising coastal ground levels.
Nothing has been said about protecting the country and its vast underground network of commercial property , infrastructure including an extensive transport system from rising groundwater. Then again, contemplation of the problem may cause a revaluation of commercial and residential property values.
How rising groundwater caused by climate change could devastate coastal communities : Higher sea levels will push the water table up with them, causing flooding, contamination, and all manner of unseen chaos.
The gist of the story is this:
For something you’ve probably never heard about, rising groundwater presents a real, and potentially catastrophic, threat to our infrastructure. Roadways will be eroded from below; septic systems won’t drain; seawalls will keep the ocean out but trap the water seeping up, leading to more flooding. Home foundations will crack; sewers will backflow and potentially leak toxic gases into people’s homes.
Any coastal area where “the land is really flat, and the geology is [the kind of] loose material that water moves through really easily,” says (Kristina Hill, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley), is “where this is really going to be a problem.” This includes places like Miami, but also Oakland, California, and Brooklyn, New York. Silicon Valley communities like Mountain View are susceptible to groundwater rise, as is Washington, DC. Worldwide, the area at risk includes portions of northwestern Europe and coastal areas of the United Kingdom, Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.
Hydrologists are aware of the problem and it’s all over the scholarly research, but it has yet to surface in a significant way outside of those bubbles.
The Government Of Singapore has made climate change mitigation a priority and has estimated that a 100 Billion Singapore dollars will be required for mitigation initiatives which are to include Dutch style polders, sea walls, and raising coastal ground levels.
Nothing has been said about protecting the country and its vast underground network of commercial property , infrastructure including an extensive transport system from rising groundwater. Then again, contemplation of the problem may cause a revaluation of commercial and residential property values.
Ultimately Singapore residents will have to ask if their island can remain habitable.
END
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