Research from Singapore justifies an Urban Heat Island Mitigation levy-Meanwhile, in Australia Manly MP Zali Steigall and others remain silent

NOTE 

It appears that there are climate change issues that the fearless climate warrior, Zali Steigall, will not even consider.

See first the type of climate change research that is being conducted in Singapore 

Willingness to Pay for Urban Heat Island Mitigation: A Case Study of Singapore

by 

Natalia Borzino

 1,*,

Samuel Chng

 2,

Muhammad Omer Mughal

 1 and

Renate Schubert

 1,3

1

Singapore-ETH Centre, 1 Create Way, CREATE Tower, #06-01, Singapore 138602, Singapore

2

Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, Singapore

3

Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, Chair of Economics, ETH-Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland

*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Climate 2020, 8(7), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8070082

Received: 24 May 2020 / Revised: 6 June 2020 / Accepted: 19 June 2020 / Published: 27 June 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Heat Islands)

Abstract

In many countries, urban heat island (UHI) effects come along with urbanization in metropolitan areas. They have relevant adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of citizens. Singapore is strongly affected by UHI. In this study, we assess Singaporeans’ willingness to pay (WTP) for UHI mitigation by implementing a contingent valuation analysis. Specifically, we employ a double-bounded dichotomous survey design on a representative sample of 1822 online respondents. We find that Singaporeans are willing to sacrifice on average 0.43% of their annual income to mitigate UHI. The total WTP for mitigation strategies among Singapore citizens and permanent residents is estimated at SGD$783.08 million per year, the equivalent of USD$563.80 per year. Our findings suggest that there is a positive and significant relationship between the size of UHI effects and the citizens’ WTP. People living in the region with the highest intensity of UHI are willing to pay 3.09 times more than those living in the region with the lowest UHI intensity. Furthermore, demographic and socio-economic characteristics are significant determinants of Singaporeans’ WTP. The WTP increases with income and education but decreases with age. Students, men, and people with children are willing to pay more. Additional analyses show that the level of UHI awareness, positive attitudes towards UHI mitigation strategies as well as preferences for outdoor activities are positively correlated with the WTP. Our findings suggest that citizens are aware of the impacts of UHI and support UHI mitigation measures to be financed by their taxes. Policy interventions to promote UHI-related education and disseminating UHI-related information might increase the support of UHI mitigation policies.

Keywords: urban heat island (UHI) effects; double-bounded contingent valuation method; willingness to pay; UHI awareness and attitudes; UHI exposure; spatial analysis

And then the state of play in Australia: 

Zali Steggall wants a conscience vote on climate change but will not, if not cannot comprehend the science behind the impact on the Sydney climate of the urban heat islands in her electorate

January 12, 2020

by Ganesh Sahathevan

As Tweeted by the Member for Warringah who got rid of Tony Abbott

A climate change tax on the waterside mansions ,high rises of Manly, Northern Beaches, Wentworth and other seaside locations where rich people live. Rich must pay for causing urban heat islands



February 07, 2019

by Ganesh Sahathevan

One The Waterfront, Wentworth Point NSW

Manly, NSW 2095

During the Wentworth by-election campaign and now in Manly in the charge of the "independents" Get Rid Of Tony Abbott campaign constituents have had plenty to say about the need for a carbon tax but said nothing about their direct contribution to the problem of higher temperatures in Sydney. The issue is quite simple; the rich in places like Wentowrth and Manly,and all along the Northern Beaches like to live in large concrete properties,,either in houses or high rise apartments. To do so they trees and clear the greenery such that cool ocean breezes blowing inland are warmed up in these urban heat islands.

Subsequently the further one lives from the waterfront, the less the cooling effect. This warming effect has been studied and documented with regards other regions; the impact of Singapore's urbanization on Johor Bahru is an example( see articles below). 

The policy prescription is then quite simple;those who live on the waterfronts ought to pay a penalty, which can go to subsidizing the costs inlanders suffer in higher cooling bills. We can start with the good people of Wentworth who are determined that Australians should suffer a carbon tax.

END 

ICUC9 - 9th International Conference on Urban Climate jointly with 12th Symposium on the Urban Environment Interaction of Singapore and Johor Bahru on Urban Climate during Monsoon Seasons 

 1. Introduction Urban development in rapidly urbanizing regions, such as Southeast Asia, requires comprehensive planning and consideration of local characteristics. Tropical and subtropical cities, with their high temperatures and humidity, are particularly affected by increasing air temperature in relatively densely built-up areas. Increase in air temperature is in turn associated with higher cooling loads and hence higher energy consumption (Santamouris et al., 2001). Many major cities developed therefore strategies to ensure sustainable urban development. However, in regard to urban climate, proposed development strategies are limited to the borders of the city or the country. A comprehensive understanding of interactions between two major cities on their urban climate needs further investigation. This study aims to assess the interaction between the development in Singapore and Johor Bahru on urban climate and formation of Urban Heat Island (UHI). Despite relatively low wind speed, the characteristic wind flow pattern in this region is expected to impact the occurrence of UHIs in Singapore and Johor Bahru and provide some understanding on cross-boundary mitigation strategies. Johor Bahru is located in the southern-most tip of Peninsular Malaysia and is the second largest city after Kuala Lumpur. Singapore is a city-state, located on an island south of Johor Bahru. Both cities are separated by the Strait of Johor (see figure 1). Recently, Johor Bahru is experiencing rapid development in the course of the implementation of the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) 2006. The CDP proposes strategic interventions to promote economic growth and improve quality of life in South Johor. Singapore, in contrast, almost reached its physical limits for further development. By 2030, Singapore will develop about 7.3% of land to meet its future land requirements. The wind flow over Peninsular Malaysia is determined by southwest and northeast monsoon, and by intermonsoon seasons. From June to September, southwesterly winds prevail, whereas from November to March the prevailing wind direction is northeast. In the intermonsoon season, wind flow is light and variable. Uniform and periodic changes of wind flow during summer and winter were of particular interest for this study. 

4. Conclusion 

The assessment of the current development in JB and Singapore shows an impact on the urban climate and UHI. Various factors including geographic location, seasonal wind changes, and urban morphology of both cities result in a unique constellation which affects the air temperature in the CBD of JB and Singapore. Despite a constant cool sea breeze during the SW-monsoon, cooler air temperature in the city center of JB cannot be observed. In case of Singapore, there is a clear indication of sea breeze effect that reduces the air temperature along the southern coast of Singapore below the values in rural areas. Comprehensive regional planning, including JB and Singapore may benefit future development of this metropolitan region by taking into account the building and street layout and the prevailing wind directions during the dominate monsoon seasons. Further research on the urban scale may results in findings that contribute to sustainable urban development of JB and Singapore.

AND, climate has been found to have an impact on the flows and evaporation rates of the Johor River Basin ,from which Singapore draws its water:

Hydrological Sciences Journal/Journal des Sciences Hydrologiques (Impact Factor: 1.55). 09/2014; 60(5). DOI: 10.1080/02626667.2014.967246

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate separate and combined impacts of land-use and climate changes on hydrological components in the Johor River Basin (JRB), Malaysia. The Mann-Kendall and Sen’s slope test were applied to detect the trends in precipitation, temperature and streamflow of JRB. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was calibrated and validated using measured monthly streamflow data. Validation results supported that SWAT was reliable in the tropical JRB. The trend analysis showed that there was an insignificant increasing trend for streamflow, whereas significant increasing trends for precipitation and temperature were found. The combined (land-use + climate change) impact caused the annual streamflow and evaporation to increase by 4.4% and 1.2%, respectively. Climate (land-use) raised annual streamflow by 4.4% (0.06%) and evaporation by 2.2% (−0.2%).Climate change imposed a stronger impact than land-use change on the streamflow and evaporation. These findings are useful for decision makers to develop better water and land-use policies.

Impacts of land-use and climate variability on hydrological components in the Johor River basin, Malaysia (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266616485_Impacts_of_land-use_and_climate_variability_on_hydrological_components_in_the_Johor_River_basin_Malaysia [accessed Feb 14, 2016].

END