First Singapore adaptation plan to identify risks and take stock of current measures, rather than new solutions

Singapore’s inaugural national adaptation plan – a blueprint to guard the country from climate impacts – is expected to take stock of current measures and identify climate risks rather than find solutions, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on 19 May.

Expected to be published in 2027, this “foundational framework” will be submitted to the UN, she said. National adaptation plans are to be updated and revised when needed.

Such a stocktaking is crucial to enable further discussions with other government agencies, businesses, and banks, which may eventually finance the solutions that would arise from the plan, added Ms Fu at an adaptation and finance event organised by DBS.

The event was part of Ecosperity, Temasek’s flagship sustainability finance event, at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Ms Fu was responding to a question about how the national adaptation plan would translate into expectations for the private sector, during a dialogue with DBS chief sustainability officer Kelvin Wong, and global non-governmental organisation Climate Bonds Initiative’s chief executive Sean Kidney.

Using the example of the telecommunications sector, she said: “If you are responsible for critical telecommunications infrastructure, you’d want to have a discussion on what would be the climate risk on the functioning of your equipment under high heat, low rainfall, and very dry situations.”

Likewise, rice importers have to assess the water scarcity risks of the paddy fields and countries they import from.

“It helps to inform you how to make your supply a lot more resilient through adaptation measures,” she said.

Ms Fu added that climate adaptation is a key area in bolstering ASEAN’s resilience, and will be a central theme in Singapore’s chairmanship of the bloc in 2027.
 

In early May, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had said that the key themes under Singapore’s chairmanship will revolve around strengthening collective resilience, advancing integration efforts, and boosting community-building.

Ms Fu said the region needs to build resilience into its supply chains, not impose export restrictions unnecessarily, cooperate on agriculture, and share climate data, among other things.

These are particularly crucial, given the geopolitical situation and current energy crisis, she noted.
Turning to finance, Ms Fu said climate risks have to be incorporated into investment and economic decisions by companies, and probably priced in, with the firms’ level of resilience tracked over time.

“Although I do agree that very often the Government will have to come in with the policies as well as the infrastructure investments, we are beginning to see businesses taking steps to increase their resilience.”

The event on 19 May also saw the inking of a partnership between DBS and Climate Bonds Initiative to find ways to get more money flowing into adaptation solutions across the Asia-Pacific.

Ms Shilpa Gulrajani, head of sustainable finance at DBS’ institutional banking group, noted that unlike renewable energy plants or other carbon emissions-reducing measures that produce predictable cash flows, adaptation projects like building flood barriers are centred on avoiding asset damage and other losses.

“This makes them inherently more challenging to finance using conventional approaches. Therefore, it is critical to build up capabilities to develop innovative financing solutions,” she said.

In 2025, Climate Bonds Initiative helped to certify the world’s first resilience bond – a novel form of adaptation finance – for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The funds are to be used for projects including developing underground reservoirs to prevent flooding caused by heavy rainfall and elevating seawalls.

When the Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued the €300 million (S$446 million) bond, it was oversubscribed seven times, drawing €2.2 billion in bids.

Mr Kidney said: “We proved the point that investors want to invest at the same scale, but we need 100 of these now, and that’s what our partnership with DBS is going to be about.

“How to get 100 good deals of resilience out in ASEAN to show the world what’s going to be done, and to show them how investors want to move in that direction.

“That’s the next year or two’s work.”
 

The development of resilience bonds is among several areas that DBS and Climate Bonds Initiative are looking to explore.

Under the partnership, both entities will publish a research paper on attractive solutions in adaptation investments across sectors such as energy and real estate.

At Ecosperity’s opening event on 19 May, Temasek chairman and former senior minister Teo Chee Hean said adaptation is a core priority for Singapore alongside emission reduction.

“Adaptation will help protect communities, infrastructure, and supply chains from growing climate risks, and will be critical to bring long-term economic stability and continuity.”
 

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