SINGAPORE: Five of the eight Workers’ Party Members of Parliament were among the more than 1,400 people who showed up for the SG Climate Rally at Hong Lim Park last weekend (Sept 23).
Mr Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC), Mr Dennis Tan (Hougang SMC) Mr Louis Chua, Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, and Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) who came “to lend our support to the tireless activists (and dreamers!) gathered at to advocate for stronger policy action of the environment,” wrote Assoc Prof Lim in a Facebook post.
The rally’s theme was inclusiveness, and the speakers underlined how climate change disproportionately affects families and individuals with lower incomes and fewer resources for coping with its effects.
Nevertheless, Assoc Prof Lim expressed hope in his post that humanity has been here before and collectively acted to address the issue.
“When I was a kid, I recall how everyone panicked about the hole in the ozone layer. But humanity as a whole recognized the seriousness of the threat, and got its act together.”
He also noted that the WP has proposed measures in Parliament to address the climate crisis, including a higher carbon tax and more incentives for people to use electric vehicles.
Mr Chua, who had been one of the speakers at the virtual Climate Rally in 2021, said that Singapore “did not even have a net-zero target back then and here we are today, initially with a net-zero ‘by or around mid-century’ target and now joining many countries globally in setting a net zero by 2050 target.”
He added, however, that there is still so much to do.
Commenting on the rally, Mr Giam wrote: “It’s excellent that this ground up initiative is not just about climate change per se, but is also concerned about other groups like workers and indigenous groups who are affected by climate change and the transition to a greener economy.”
Mr Tan, meanwhile, saluted “the efforts and passion of the organisers and I love the various different themes and emphases laid out in the different booths and mentioned in the speeches,” and added, “We need to continue to work hand in hand to achieve our climate goals and the transition must be just too!”
On her part, Ms He similarly noted that “the passion of the organisers, volunteers and attendees really shine through. Lovely to see the positive power of organisation to show our concern about issues that affect us all. We are in a climate emergency, and it’s up to all of us to Take Action Now.”
She also wrote about the Postcard to My MP booth, saying that some residents from Buangkok, the ward she oversees, gave her the postcards personally. /TISG
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