The research surveyed 1,500 residents and permanent residents between September and October 2025.
Only 16% of respondents in Singapore have purchased insurance products designed to protect against climate-related risks, although a further 40% intend to do so in the next 12 months.
The findings from a study by Singlife and the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) show a gap between awareness and action on climate resilience, with personal ownership identified as a stronger driver of sustainable behaviour than awareness or knowledge.
The white paper, Closing the Sustainability Action Gap: Insights from the Singlife-SGFIN Sustainable Future Index 2026, found that ownership accounts for 74% of sustainability action, compared with 18% for awareness and 8% for knowledge.
The study is based on a nationally representative survey of 1,500 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents conducted between 12 September and 17 October 2025.
It assessed 25 sustainability actions across four areas: Responsible Investing, Acting on Climate Change, Inclusive and Sustainable Solutions, and Society and Culture.
The 2026 Index recorded an overall sustainability action score of 56 out of 100. Respondents had adopted an average of 10 of the 25 actions measured and intended to adopt another eight over the next 12 months.
Insurance was amongst the areas where the gap between current behaviour and future intent was most evident.
“Awareness alone is no longer the main challenge,” said Chia Ko Wen, head of Sustainability at Singlife. “The next step is helping people turn awareness into action. That means making sustainability more personal, practical and accessible, whilst recognising that different people face different barriers and motivations,”