2024 ‘likely’ to be the hottest year, plus more news on climate change

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, the EU’s climate monitor said it is “increasingly likely” that 2024 will be the hottest year on record. In other news, Malaysia’s approach to climate change adaptation is set to be outlined in its National Adaptation Plan (MyNAP), which is expected to be finalised in 2026. Lastly, Cambodia’s Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth said that Cambodia and the rest of Southeast Asia are at the forefront of the climate change crisis.

2024 ‘increasingly likely’ to be warmest on record, EU monitor says

It is “increasingly likely” that 2024 will be the hottest year on record, despite July ending a 13-month streak of monthly temperature records, the EU’s climate monitor said Thursday, 8th August.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in HKFP that last month was the second warmest on record books going back to 1940, only slightly cooler than July 2023.

Between June 2023 and June 2024, each month eclipsed its temperature record for the time of year. “The streak of record-breaking months has come to an end, but only by a whisker,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S.

Malaysia prepares its climate change adaptation strategy

VietnamPlus reports that Malaysia’s approach to climate change adaptation is set to be outlined in its National Adaptation Plan (MyNAP), which is expected to be finalised in 2026.

Supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Green Climate Fund, the plan focuses on the five priority areas of public health, agriculture and food security, forestry and biodiversity, water resources, and infrastructure. It will offer strategies to manage the impacts of climate change in these sectors, including action plans to address rising temperatures and early warning systems.

Sophalleth: Cambodia making strong climate change efforts

The alarming effects of climate change are exacerbating heat waves while causing unprecedented storms and prolonged droughts, said Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth, during his keynote address on Cambodia’s perspective on climate change mitigation at a regional seminar, held in Singapore on 17th September. According to The Phnom Penh Post, the event served as the launch of the fifth report of the Southeast Asia Climate Outlook Survey, produced by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute on the Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme.

“Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, is at the forefront of this crisis, as the effects of climate change could devastate economic development and endanger the lives of millions,” said Sophalleth, adding that, Cambodia, along with other ASEAN countries, has stepped up its climate ambitions to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees. The minister highlighted the strategies laid out by the Cambodian government, as well as the policies of his ministry, to respond to climate change and promote environmental sustainability.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].