CLC at the Singapore Pavilion, COP28 - Accelerating Collective Climate Action

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) was held in the United Arab Emirates from 30 November – 12 December 2023. It aimed to be an inclusive and results-oriented COP to accelerate emissions reduction through pragmatic decision-making.

Following the success of the inaugural Singapore Pavilion at COP27 in Egypt, the Singapore Pavilion at COP28 continued to demonstrate a commitment to global climate action. The Pavilion complements G2G discussions on the negotiations track, by providing a space for the private and people sectors to participate. This year, Singapore had stronger and more senior-level representation from the private and people sectors, including at the CEO-level, from entities such as Temasek, OCBC, and PIL, as well as global institutions. Key announcements at the Pavilion included launches of new research projects, sustainability funds, and both B2B and G2G MOUs.

CLC’s participation at COP28
The built environment and I&E sector are of utmost importance and relevant to achieving Singapore’s net-zero targets. Thus, CLC curated and executed the programming for the “Cities and Built Environment” thematic days at the Singapore Pavilion. This included a series of panel discussions and fireside chats that highlighted Singapore’s efforts in developing a sustainable built environment with MND family agencies, Singapore companies and CLC’s strategic partners.

Aligned to the focus area of decarbonising the urban and built environment, and the development of climate-resilient cities – these were some of the notable events held across the “Cities and Built Environment” thematic days at the Singapore Pavilion:

• Panel sessions on City in Nature, low-carbon districts and green buildings which featured speakers from the National Parks Board (NParks), Housing and Development Board (HDB) and companies such as City Developments Limited (CDL), Capitaland, ST Engineering, Arup, Surbana Jurong and academics from Singapore universities such as National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Technology and Design.

• Fireside chats with CEOs and distinguished guests including Mr Frederick Teo (CEO, GenZero), Mr Choon Chong Yeo (CEO, ASEAN, Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd) and Dr Winston Chow, (Professor of Urban Climate, Singapore Management University).

Solidifying collaborations: MoU between CLC and Ramboll
On the sidelines of COP28, CLC and Ramboll signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in knowledge exchange, on 9 December 2023. This MoU builds on the ongoing engagements between CLC and Ramboll and seeks to promote further sharing of knowledge through co-organising programmes and leveraging each other’s expert networks from Singapore, Denmark, and around the world. Under this MoU, CLC and Ramboll will launch Urban Lab, an innovative knowledge generation process with a focus on regenerative urban development approaches. Prior to this MoU, Ramboll has initiated Urban Labs in Copenhagen and New York, generating valuable insight in sustainable urban development in collaboration with cross-sector partners.

The main objective of the joint CLC-Ramboll Urban Lab is to investigate the concept of regenerative urban development to understand its key principles and in doing so, distilling performance targets from global and Singapore-based case studies. These will have broad relevance and applicability to other cities worldwide. This initiative is set to commence in 2024, and CLC and Ramboll will be engaging urban planners, developers, and financiers, from the public, private and academic sectors. It will focus on 3 themes: decarbonising the built environment, integrating nature-based solutions, and enhancing cities’ climate resilience. The Urban Lab will commence in the first quarter of 2024 and the outcomes from the workshop will be shared at the World Cities Summit which will take place in Singapore from 2 – 4 June 2024.