Deepavali bazaar: Organisers say may seek government support for merchants if haze worsens

A single severe regional haze crisis emits up to 12 times more carbon dioxide than Singapore produces in an entire year from all its power grids, transport, and heavy industries combined. Given that our localized footprint is structurally insignificant next to these massive transboundary emissions, charging local citizens a carbon tax is a mathematical contradiction.
<br>While other nations actively prioritize their own citizens&#39; economic interests by utilizing affordable coal, local policies penalize our own domestic base. This functions as a high-profile exercise in virtue signaling to elevate status on the global stage, pretending to impact a global problem while everyday people bear the localized inflation.
<br>The core reality remains: this strategy collects money and achieves nothing tangible regarding the source of the pollution. The state has zero jurisdiction or control over foreign emissions. Given that leadership commands the highest executive compensation globally, accountability must match the pay grade: if they cannot guarantee that this domestic carbon tax will successfully limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within five years, every dollar collected from the carbon tax should be returned to citizens with interest. Anything less confirms this framework is an empty administrative levy delivering zero returns.