Singapore commits to ambitious pledge to cut emissions

SINGAPORE — The Republic has pledged an ambitious target to reduce carbon emissions, a move environmental observers have hailed. However, they said it requires all parties, from industries to individuals, to play their part to achieve it.

Joining 16 other countries in stating targeted carbon emission cuts to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), Singapore said it intends to reduce the amount of emissions per GDP dollar by 36 per cent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Termed Emissions Intensity, the target will drop from 0.176kg per dollar to 0.113kg per dollar.

Separately, Singapore expects the total volume of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to carbon dioxide it produces a year to peak at 65 million metric tonnes, which it pledged to keep to, regardless of economic growth.

In a statement from the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, said: “For a very small country with limited alternative energy options, the stabilisation of our emissions with the aim of peaking around 2030 requires serious effort by everyone.

“We have to strive for higher levels of energy efficiency, including deployment of best-in-class technologies.”

Across sectors, industry, buildings, and transport form the major contributors of carbon emissions here. To hit the carbon emission targets — otherwise known as Intended Nationally Determined Contribution — new or enhanced measures will be introduced, said the NCCS.

The Government will continue to seek feedback on what needs to be done and give businesses and households sufficient lead time to adjust to new requirements, it added.Details will be announced by the respective agencies later, but examples of action that could be taken include improving energy efficiency and providing incentives for industries, and raising the usage of public transport and encouraging walking and cycling for individuals.

Parties to the UNFCC — 195 nations — will be meeting in Paris in December to craft a new global climate agreement for post-2020.

Singapore is already among the top 20 per cent of most carbon efficient countries in the world, contributing 2.2 per cent in trade but accounting for just around 0.11 per cent in global emissions.

The city-state has also been working towards reducing its emissions to achieve its unconditional pledge of reducing emissions by 7 to 11 per cent below business-as-usual levels by 2020. For example, the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Scheme and solar panel installations have improved the energy efficiency of buildings. The Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015 has also set out 2030 targets of extending cycling paths to 700km and increasing peak hour journeys on public transport from 63 per cent in 2013 to 75 per cent.

Describing Singapore’s emissions targets as a step in the right direction, lead environmental engineer at the Singapore Environment Council Kavickumar Muruganathan said the Republic is “definitely punching above our weight to reduce total carbon emissions and fight climate change”.

On how limiting carbon emissions after 2030 will impact economic growth, Professor Michael Quah, director of the Energy Office at National University of Singapopre, said it may stimulate the economy by bringing in less energy-intensive industries while making the existing industries more energy-efficient.

Mr Eugene Tay, who is a director of sustainability consulting firm Green Future Solutions, added that the economy would have to go through “de-carbonisation” by becoming more energy-efficient and using more renewable energy.

However, executive director of Nanyang Technological University’s Energy Research Institute Subodh Mhaisalkar said Singapore should not underestimate the challenges in meeting the new targets. “It is an exciting target from a technology perspective but I’m concerned that going forward, the easy things are done,” he said.

Both he and Prof Quah said companies would need to look at making processes more efficient and finding ways to recycle waste heat and gases produced.

Prof Mhaisalkar noted that mindset changes are also needed, such as individuals choosing walking over driving, or wider acceptance of working from home and adoption of e-commerce.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story reported that Singapore said it intends to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide per GDP dollar by 36 per cent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.This is inaccurate. Singapore said it intends to reduce the amount of emissions per GDP dollar by 36 per cent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.