Climate Innovation Summit Singapore 2026 - Ms Goh Hanyan

1. Good morning, and a warm welcome to those who have travelled to our sunny Singapore. I am delighted to join you at the inaugural Climate Innovation Summit Singapore, which brings together climate innovators, entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners.

2. The summit will also feature the 2026 Climate Launchpad Global Grand Final later today, celebrating the achievements of global finalists and the spirit of innovation that has truly brought all of us together.

Climate Change Realities

3. Climate change is a defining challenge of our time, and it respects no boundaries. It’s everybody’s problem. Around the world, rising temperatures and extreme weather events are breaking records, the wrong types of records that we want to break, placing growing pressure on food, water and energy systems, our way of life, and affecting everything that we do.

4. And regardless of where you come from, you probably have been hit by a weather event. In Europe, there were extreme heatwaves in summer. In Asia, we also saw our share of floods, extreme weather conditions, and right now, we see some environmental problems exacerbated because of El Niño. Every continent has its challenges, and it will not go away.

5. In Singapore, we are already experiencing rising temperatures, more intense and sudden rainfall. While we can help to expand our drainage systems, we can’t simply plan for every single storm. Hence, that requires the government and our people to change the way we think about coping with climate change. Earlier this year, we announced that 2026 will be designated as Singapore’s Year of Climate Adaptation. It’s indeed a Year of Climate Adaptation, because we want to rally collective action to build a more climate-resilient nation. While we should continue figuring out how we can mitigate climate change, the effects are already here. How can we adapt better to ensure that our way of life can continue.

6. As climate risks continue to intensify, so too will their impacts on lives, livelihoods and economies. Climate change will increasingly disrupt businesses and supply chains, place greater demands on infrastructure and public systems, and more importantly, the well-being of each one of us, especially vulnerable groups.

7. This makes it more important than ever to harness the power of science, technology and innovation to find ways to tackle climate change in the ways that we can.

Singapore’s Approach

8. Singapore is no stranger to using science, technology and innovation to tackle our national challenges.

9. As a small, low-lying and densely populated city-state, we face constraints on land, natural resources and energy. We have therefore had to continually adapt to figure out what we can do, use what we have, to ensure that our homes, infrastructure and economy remain resilient.

10. Take water for example. With limited natural water resources, we invested in science and technology to develop NEWater and desalination, turning what was once a vulnerability into a resilient and diversified water supply.

11. Today, these solutions are not only integral to Singapore’s water security, but have helped grow a vibrant water industry, with Singapore-based companies bringing their expertise and technologies to markets around the world.

12. But efforts by the government alone are not enough. We need businesses to develop and deploy new technologies, investors to support these solutions with confidence and capital, and communities to take that leap of faith and translate innovation into action.

Climate Innovation for Real-World Impact

13. This is where platforms like the Climate Innovation Summit Singapore are crucial. The Summit brings together climate innovators and ecosystem partners from around the world to build connections and explore how promising solutions can gain a foothold in the real world and scale up.

14. In support of today’s Summit, Singapore is hosting the 2026 Climate Launchpad Global Grand Final. This year, Climate Launchpad attracted more than 4,000 submissions from over 50 countries, the highest number of submissions in the competition’s history. This reflects growing interest and enthusiasm around climate innovation and the development of solutions that tackle real-world challenges.

15. For example, as countries accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, Neusla from Singapore is helping to advance the circular economy by recovering valuable materials from retired solar panels.

16. With climate change bringing more erratic weather patterns and increasing pressure on water and food resources, YakuSmart from Peru is developing solutions to optimise water use in agriculture, while Polium Scientific from Turkey is helping to strengthen food resilience by extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, thereby reducing food waste. They are all different parts of the climate equation and are all very interesting ideas.

Conclusion

17. Climate change can feel overwhelming. The scale and urgency of the issue mean that no single country, organisation or sector can address it alone. But the ideas, collaborations, energy and actions represented here today demonstrate that progress is possible. 

18. To all our Global Finalists, congratulations on reaching this stage of the competition. You have each achieved something significant through your efforts to develop solutions that can help the communities that you care about.

19. I hope your journeys will inspire even more people, especially those in the next generation, to have that faith to continue fighting and to step forward with ideas of their own and contribute to a more sustainable future.

20. I wish everyone a fruitful and meaningful Summit. I hope today’s exchanges will spark more new partnerships and opportunities for collaboration.

21. Thank you.