SINGAPORE — As Southeast Asia braces to be among the hardest-hit by climate change, Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action Ravi Menon called on faith-based organizations to drive personal and communal shifts toward sustainability during an Earth Day interfaith dialogue.
In his keynote at the Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre event, Mr. Menon stressed that spiritual teachings can foster environmental stewardship, promote mindful consumption, and highlight humanity’s bond with nature. “Faith traditions expand our view of the self, we are part of something larger, accountable to something higher,” he said. “Climate action is a moral and spiritual calling beyond policy or economics.”
He spotlighted faith groups’ potential to adopt green practices like solar power and build resilience, such as aiding low-income families against heatwaves. “Climate change ignores borders and faiths; we must unite across them,” Mr. Menon urged, invoking religions’ shared language of love for humanity and Earth.
The Inter-religious Earth Day Dialogue 2026, titled “Many Faiths, One World,” drew over 70 leaders and youth from Singapore’s diverse communities. Organized by Caritas Singapore, the Catholic Church’s social arm, following its 2025 debut, participants shared initiatives from eco-buildings and sustainability education to curbing consumerism and ecological spirituality.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary Goh Hanyan rallied attendees to embed climate action in core values, leverage the SG Eco Fund (launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment), and back projects like Tzu Chi’s e-sports environmental contest. “Challenges are significant but not insurmountable, together with shared purpose, we grow stronger,” she said.
Amid Singapore’s warming trends, 2025 marked its eighth-hottest year despite La Niña rains—and looming El Niño dryness, the ministry named 2026 the Year of Climate Adaptation to tackle heat, sea-level rise, and erratic weather in this high-risk region.
Caritas Chairperson Agnes Liew tied environmental care to aiding the vulnerable, while Hindu Advisory Board Chairman Sengkuttuvan Kanniyappan praised cross-faith exchanges, noting temples’ shift to biodegradable plates over plastics. University student Nadhira Fateen Safeel, 22, of the Inter-University Environmental Coalition, celebrated faiths’ push to blend traditions with sustainability.