Climate Conversations

Former hedge fund manager Vikas Garg has an ambitious vision – mobilise one billion people to try the vegan lifestyle. The Singapore-based company has expanded its mobile platform app to include a peer-to-peer marketplace and restaurant reviews, in hopes of driving sustainable change. But what are the challenges he faces in building the business? He shares with Julie Yoo on this episode. See omnys...

Coca Cola recently launched 100 per cent recycled plastic PET bottles in Singapore and Malaysia, paving the way for other companies to reduce virgin plastic waste. But critics say the beverage behemoth must still address its plastic footprint by reducing production. Shea Flynn, Coca Cola’s director of sustainable packaging policy & partnerships in ASEAN & South Pacific, shares more. See om...

Fast furniture is a growing scourge for the planet. Nearly 11 million tonnes of tables, chairs and the like are thrown out each year, according to a 2018 EU report. Peter Ortner, an assistant professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, tells CNA's Julie Yoo how he’s come up with furniture that's lightweight, spill-proof and sustainable.  S...

How are warmer temperatures accelerating the spread of pathogens and what role does climate migration play in disease outbreaks? Dr Mary Rodgers, who manages the Abbott Global Viral Surveillance Program, explains to Julie Yoo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore’s “Long Island” project will unfold over the next few decades with the aim of providing coastal protection. But what are the trade-offs to the environment? Dr Stephen Chua, research assistant professor at the Earth Observatory of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University, explains why this groundbreaking project is necessary.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel is back with a vengeance post-pandemic and tourists are flocking to hotspots. How can we plan our trips better without causing environmental strain? CNA’s Dawn Tan tells Julie Yoo how some companies are shaking up the tourism scene.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore released its third national climate change study in January and the end-of-century projections are sobering. By 2100, the country could face very hot days, with daily maximum temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. Dr Aurel Moise, Deputy Director at Singapore's Centre for Climate Research, helps unpack what it all means.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second of our top two episodes of The Climate Conversations this year explores how humanity’s “biggest enemy” might carry the solution to stop mosquito-borne diseases. With rising temperatures, diseases such as dengue are spreading and with potentially deadly consequences. Professor Scott O’Neill, founder and CEO of the World Mosquito Program shares more about his work.  See omnystudio.com/lis...

COP28 closed in Dubai with an agreement from more than 190 countries to transition away from fossil fuels. Yet it was the final two days that saw intense negotiations with some of the world's largest oil and gas producers. CNA's Julie Yoo and Jack Board give their take on the final agreement, the deep divisions and the challenging path ahead to hit global climate targets. See omnystudio.com/listen...

The first of our top two episodes of The Climate Conversations this year looks at how soldiers are facing scorching heat on the battlefield as climate change wreaks havoc on weather patterns. Retired three-star British general Richard Nugee tells Julie Yoo how armies will have to find new ways to confront climate change. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Conference of Parties or COP28 takes place in Dubai from Nov 30 to Dec 12. Julie Yoo checks in with CNA's sustainability correspondent Jack Board and Melissa Low, research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, to discuss what’s on the packed agenda and why this is a critical meeting for all stakeholders. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Fiji, Tonga and Tuvalu hold a fascination for travellers who are drawn to their unparalleled beauty. But these island paradises are facing an existential climate threat as sea levels rise. CNA’s Jeremy Koh gets a first-hand account and tells Julie Yoo how locals in Tuvalu are adapting to living on an island that is becoming increasingly uninhabitable.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

They say money makes the world go round and financial institutions are critically tied to businesses. But how does climate change come into the decision-making process? Julie Yoo sits down with Helge Muenkel, DBS chief sustainability officer, to discuss how banks make tough decisions on who gets money. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shein produces as many as 100,000 pieces of clothing daily and critics say this comes at a cost to the planet. In this episode of Sustainability Chiefs, Adam Whinston, Shein's global head of sustainability tells Julie Yoo why he believes the company's business model is often misunderstood.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this new limited series Sustainability Chiefs, host Julie Yoo tackles some of the world’s most pressing climate agenda with the people tasked to drive change in global companies. To kickstart the series, she speaks with the chief sustainability officer of Starbucks, Michael Kobori. What can the world’s biggest coffee chain do to reduce its carbon footprint? And will rising global temperatures t...

Batman costumes, winter jackets and flower girl dresses - some parents have no idea what to do with these occasion clothes after their kids have outgrown them. Julie Yoo speaks to Angeline Tan, founder of local clothing rental Weekend Kids, on why sustainable shopping for children is good for everyone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With an increase in hotspots detected in Sumatra, Singapore is bracing itself for a return of the haze. What's the impact of air-borne particles on your health? CNA's Julie Yoo speaks to Duke-NUS Adjunct Assistant Professor Joel Aik on this episode of The Climate Conversations podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trees can become dangerous when they’re sick, leaning or dying. But checking the health of each tree is a massive challenge, especially when Singapore has more trees than people. In this episode of The Climate Conversations, Peter Sasi, vice president of APAC at Greehill, tells Julie Yoo how advanced technology can help better protect trees – and people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Vibrant wetlands and animals native to Ukraine are silently facing what Oleksii Marushchak calls an “ecocide”. In this episode of The Climate Conversations, the Ukrainian conservation biologist tells Julie Yoo why he has been risking his safety to document Russia’s “war crimes against nature”.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hong Lim Park was covered in a sea of red as more than 1,400 people gathered on Sep 23 for the first in-person climate rally in Singapore in four years. SG Climate Rally’s founding member Tan Heng Yeng tells CNA's Julie Yoo how her style of activism has changed and why climate change is a complex problem that is closely linked to social inequality. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

Floods, heatwaves and extreme cold weather can wipe out sizeable amounts of a farmer’s harvest. In the last episode of Surviving the Sizzle, Rabia Sultan, a female farmer from Pakistan, tells Julie Yoo how she stays positive and finds new ways of growing her crops in a climate-stressed world.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Soldiers will have to battle scorching heat as climate change wreaks havoc on weather patterns. In our second installment of Surviving the Sizzle, retired three-star general Richard Nugee tells Julie Yoo how armies will have to find new ways to confront climate change on the battlefield.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this three-part series, Surviving the Sizzle, Julie Yoo explores the personal stories of people on the frontlines of battling with extreme heat. In the first episode, she speaks to Chris Hardman, chief fire officer at Forest Fire Management Victoria on the real and present danger of an overheated planet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They are tiny but mosquitoes threaten the lives of 40 per cent of the global population. With rising temperatures, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue are spreading and with potentially deadly consequences. Professor Scott O’Neill, founder and CEO of the World Mosquito Program, says this is humanity’s “biggest enemy” but suggests that the solution might lie with mosquitoes themselves. See omnys...

It’s a simple idea — reduce a country’s debt burden and put those savings into environmental protection. But how do debt-for-nature swaps actually work in practice? And are they really a win-win solution that benefits both the planet and a developing country’s economic development? Julie Yoo gets some answers from The Nature Conservancy’s Will McGoldrick in this episode of The Climate Conversation...