1. Introduction

Climate change is said to be one of the biggest threats to future development. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007), 11 of the last 12 years (1995–2006) ranked among the 12 warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperature since 1850. At the same time, global average sea level has risen since 1960 at an average rate of 1.8 mm/year and since 1993 at 3.1 mm/year, which has considerable impact on future development, especially on countries like Singapore which is surrounded by sea from all sides (IPCC 2007). Billions of people are exposed to natural disaster risks, including weather-related disasters that take lives, damage infrastructure and natural resources, and disrupt economic activities (Pelling et al. 2004). There is broad consensus that global climate change has been caused by an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from both natural and man-made sources (Environment Agency 2005). However, human activity is believed to be the most significant source of emissions, which is mainly caused by fossil fuel consumption such as petrol, gas, oil and diesel.