Communicating the Climate Crisis: Translating Science into Policy and Practice
Monday 14 July | 10:30 – 12:30
While small in size, Singapore faces outsized risks from climate change—risks that may not be immediately visible, especially given the nation’s limited natural resources and highly managed environment. So how can a city-state effectively translate scientific insight into public awareness, policy, and meaningful action? What roles do credibility, creativity, and cultural context play in engaging diverse audiences? And how can communication strategies bridge the persistent gap between knowledge and behaviour in an age shaped by digital media? Bringing together voices from media, policy, climate science, and social media, this panel explores how environmental communication must evolve across platforms and professions to meet the demands of our climate reality. The session aims to spark cross-sector dialogue and offer fresh perspectives for academics, practitioners, and communicators working to make climate change matter—locally and globally.
Panel Chair & Moderator
Edson Tandoc
President’s Chair Professor, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Co-chair of Singapore Local Organising Committee
Panellists
Janil Puthucheary
Dr Janil Puthucheary is Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.
Dr Janil Puthucheary is a member of the National Integration Council and an Advisor to Cyber Youth Singapore, and Advisor to Narpani Peravai, People’s Association.
He previously held portfolios at the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and the Ministry of Health.
He chairs OnePeople.sg, which works to promote racial harmony in Singapore, and the Executive Committee of the People’s Action Party (PAP) Community Foundation, which provides early childhood education and eldercare services. His political roles include Chair of the Mental Health Group and Whip.
Adam Switzer
Professor Adam Switzer is a coastal scientist at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, where he leads research on sea-level change, tsunamis, and tropical cyclones, with a strong focus on coastal sustainability and resilience. He is the founding Director of CIFAL Singapore, a United Nations training and outreach centre for sustainable development, and also leads the Climate Transformation Programme, a major research initiative addressing climate risks and solutions in Southeast Asia. His work integrates geological, historical, and instrumental data to guide sustainable coastal planning and disaster risk reduction across the region.
Audrey Tan
Audrey Tan is an assistant news editor at The Straits Times, a news outlet based in Singapore. She helms coverage of environmental issues at the publication, and has over a decade's worth of experience covering issues related to climate change, biodiversity conservation, and international climate negotiations. She has a special interest in how Southeast Asia is affected by the planetary crises of climate change and nature loss, and how the region is responding to the planetary emergencies. In 2022, she was part of a team that received a grant from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Journalism Fund Southeast Asia to pursue an investigative piece on the region’s post-pandemic bushmeat trade, and its implications for forest and human health. Audrey holds a
masters degree in climate science and policy from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Kong Man Jing
MJ is the co-founder of Just Keep Thinking, an educational media company that blends education and entertainment to create engaging science and environment content on various social media platforms. With a background in environmental biology and experience as a science teacher, MJ produces videos, documentaries, and award-winning comic books. She is committed to communicating biodiversity and sustainability issues and increasing access to environmental education for the public.
She also actively conducts nature tours, sustainability workshops, and talks, and recently launched the CDL Eco-Train, a decommissioned train transformed into a public eco-learning hub. Eager to empower youth and contribute to environmental policy development, MJ also co-led a government-backed youth panel and Singapore’s youth delegation at COP29 to amplify youth voices in climate action.
