SINGAPORE - In the light of the serious climate change warning issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Singapore stays fully committed to supporting global action on the issue.

For instance, the country was one of the first 55 nations that ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Tuesday (Oct 9).

Speaking on board the Polish ship Dar Mlodziezy, which is on a stop in Singapore as part of a year-long cruise around the world to commemorate 100 years of Poland's independence, Mr Masagos said the world has already seen a "litany of climate disasters" such as droughts.

The IPCC released a report on Monday arguing that the world needed to lower its global warming limit from 2 deg C to 1.5 deg C, with one of its coordinating lead authors arguing that the effects of climate change would be "exponentially more dramatic" above 1.5 deg C.

Mr Masagos highlighted Singapore's proactive role in tackling climate change, such as being South-east Asia's first country to implement a carbon tax across all economic sectors in 2019.

"The carbon tax will be applied uniformly to everyone without exemption and encourages companies to price their products to reflect what they do to our climate."

Mr Masagos also talked about how Singapore was preparing for the rising sea levels that would accompany climate change, such as building Changi Airport's Terminal 5 5.5m above sea level, constructing seawalls and raising the height of coastal roads.

He referenced the maritime industry's role in promoting clean and green shipping, such as the $100 million Maritime Singapore Green Initiative launched in 2011.

"We are committed to the global action on climate change," he said, adding that to effectively tackle it, " we need all stakeholders to come on board".

Mr Masagos said that Singapore, which designated 2018 the Year of Climate Action, would completely support Poland when it hosts the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December.