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S1E120: Climate change only one of three ecological crises: Tommy Koh warns
Manage episode 410992044 series 2341710
In a storied career, the diplomat Professor Tommy Koh also chaired the Earth Summit in 1992 and negotiated the Law of the Sea.
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
The framers of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea did not foresee global warming affecting oceans to the extent that it does - causing acidification and the death of coral reefs - said the top diplomat who was president of the 1973 conference that produced the Convention known as UNCLOS.
In this episode, Singapore’s ambassador at-large and foremost international environmental law expert Tommy Koh - who also chaired the pivotal 1992 Earth Summit - tells host ST's global contributor Nirmal Ghosh that plastic debris in the oceans now is of severe concern. He adds that the international community has also failed to be good stewards of the world's fisheries.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), unsustainable practices have depleted about 90 per cent of major fisheries - and fishing fleets continue to be subsidised. The total capacity of the world’s fishing fleets is beyond the sustainable limit of the oceans.
Meanwhile, unlike climate change, the loss of biodiversity has failed to capture the popular imagination even as some scientists are calling the current era "the sixth extinction."
There is hope, however, that the international community is at a tipping point, with people and governments waking up to the danger of this unprecedented loss.
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
2:22 The blind spot during negotiations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
3:57 Large amounts of marine plastic debris in the ocean is a very serious problem
5:01 Why it is unsustainable to subsidise the fishing industry
6:05 How the man or woman on the street can link the loss of biodiversity to their individual welfare and interest
9:46 What are the shortfalls in efforts to curb global warming
12:43 How densely populated Singapore managed to maintain green spaces
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Fa'izah Sani and Hadyu Rahim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaf
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWaY
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read ST's Climate Change microsite: https://www.straitstimes.com/climate-change
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
#greenpulse
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapters
1. Climate change only one of three ecological crises: Tommy Koh warns (00:00:00)
2. UNCLOS negotiation blind spot? (00:02:22)
3. Ocean plastic debris is a serious issue. (00:03:57)
4. Unsustainability of fishing industry subsidies (00:05:01)
5. Linking biodiversity loss to personal welfare (00:06:05)
6. Shortfalls in global warming mitigation? (00:09:46)
7. Singapore's green space management? (00:12:43)
1904 episodes
Manage episode 410992044 series 2341710
In a storied career, the diplomat Professor Tommy Koh also chaired the Earth Summit in 1992 and negotiated the Law of the Sea.
Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.
The framers of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea did not foresee global warming affecting oceans to the extent that it does - causing acidification and the death of coral reefs - said the top diplomat who was president of the 1973 conference that produced the Convention known as UNCLOS.
In this episode, Singapore’s ambassador at-large and foremost international environmental law expert Tommy Koh - who also chaired the pivotal 1992 Earth Summit - tells host ST's global contributor Nirmal Ghosh that plastic debris in the oceans now is of severe concern. He adds that the international community has also failed to be good stewards of the world's fisheries.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), unsustainable practices have depleted about 90 per cent of major fisheries - and fishing fleets continue to be subsidised. The total capacity of the world’s fishing fleets is beyond the sustainable limit of the oceans.
Meanwhile, unlike climate change, the loss of biodiversity has failed to capture the popular imagination even as some scientists are calling the current era "the sixth extinction."
There is hope, however, that the international community is at a tipping point, with people and governments waking up to the danger of this unprecedented loss.
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
2:22 The blind spot during negotiations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
3:57 Large amounts of marine plastic debris in the ocean is a very serious problem
5:01 Why it is unsustainable to subsidise the fishing industry
6:05 How the man or woman on the street can link the loss of biodiversity to their individual welfare and interest
9:46 What are the shortfalls in efforts to curb global warming
12:43 How densely populated Singapore managed to maintain green spaces
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Fa'izah Sani and Hadyu Rahim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and rate us:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaf
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWaY
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read ST's Climate Change microsite: https://www.straitstimes.com/climate-change
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
#greenpulse
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapters
1. Climate change only one of three ecological crises: Tommy Koh warns (00:00:00)
2. UNCLOS negotiation blind spot? (00:02:22)
3. Ocean plastic debris is a serious issue. (00:03:57)
4. Unsustainability of fishing industry subsidies (00:05:01)
5. Linking biodiversity loss to personal welfare (00:06:05)
6. Shortfalls in global warming mitigation? (00:09:46)
7. Singapore's green space management? (00:12:43)
1904 episodes
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