Singapore sets new national climate target for 2035, Govt invites public feedback

A public consultation exercise on Singapore’s current decarbonisation plans was launched on Oct 8, with the Government seeking feedback ahead of submitting new climate targets for 2035 to the UN.

The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) is asking the public about some key measures Singapore is taking to reduce its carbon emissions, such as its move to import clean electricity from its neighbours, and whether they agree that a low-carbon economy would provide good jobs for Singaporeans.

The questionnaire can be found on the website of the Government’s feedback unit Reach. People are invited to share their views on the next phase of this “decarbonisation journey”.

The NCCS said that Singapore’s decarbonisation journey involves three transitions: a carbon transition to reduce emissions across all sectors; an energy transition to achieve a resilient, net-zero electricity grid; and an economic transition to remain competitive in a low-carbon future.

In the questionnaire, people are asked to rate their support for policies such as the use of solar in the energy transition, and whether they understand some of these policies, such as the need for importing low-carbon electricity, and how carbon credits can contribute to decarbonisation.

They are also asked whether Singapore should put in place policies that would provide companies with stronger disincentives to emit carbon, such as a higher carbon tax, or impose regulations on emissions.

Under the UN’s Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit their climate targets, which are reflective of their “highest possible ambition”, every five years. The next targets, which will be set for 2035, are due for submission by February 2025.

Called nationally determined contributions (NDC), these targets should help the world get to net-zero emissions by 2050, and cap global warming at 1.5 deg C. 

The world has already warmed by around 1.2 deg C compared with pre-industrial levels. 

Singapore has so far already committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. In the interim, its latest NDC aim is to slash emissions to 60 million tonnes by 2030, after peaking emissions earlier.

With domestic emissions still growing, Singapore’s emissions will likely grow to around 65 million tonnes between 2025 and 2028, before starting to fall towards the end of the decade, and reach net zero by 2050.

In September, the Republic announced plans to import up to six gigawatts of low-carbon electricity from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam by 2035, up from 4GW previously.

Singapore currently has a carbon tax of $25 per tonne of carbon dioxide, which will be further raised to $45 per tonne by 2026 and 2027, with a view of reaching $50 to $80 per tonne by 2030.

The current carbon tax kicked in in 2024, from a prior rate of $5 per tonne.

Asked how public feedback could aid in the development of a more ambitious climate target for 2035, an NCCS spokeswoman said that the consultation will help the agency get a sense of public support for the overall pace of the carbon transition, as well as how the public views the opportunities and challenges presented by climate change and its impact on the economy, their jobs and their daily lives.

“We will take into consideration these views as we develop our next bound of climate targets, measures and policies,” she said.

She added that NCCS is also considering the package of mitigation measures for its 2035 NDC, which may include enhancing measures that it is pursuing to meet its 2030 target.

NCCS previously conducted a public consultation in 2022, raising its ambition to reduce emissions to around 60 million tonnes in 2030, and get to net zero by 2050.

The previous target was to cut emissions to around 65 million tonnes in 2030 after peaking earlier, and reach net zero by around mid-century.

According to the last available data from November 2023, Singapore emitted 57.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2021 – a 9 per cent increase from 2020 levels.

When asked what would be a realistic climate target for 2035, Ms Melissa Low, a research fellow at the NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, said that based on a simple linear trajectory, getting from 60 million tonnes in 2030 to absolute zero emissions in 2050 would mean that the next NDC in 2035 should be set at 45 million tonnes.

But Singapore has set a target of net-zero emissions by 2050, which would allow it leeway to exhaust all possible means of slashing domestic emissions before using international carbon credits to offset the remainder. 

“The next NDC target will need to be determined more carefully, taking into consideration our pace of emissions increase from now till 2028, and whether we can decarbonise from the peak level of 65 million tonnes to 60 million tonnes in 2030, or if we plan to use international carbon credits to help us get there,” Ms Low added. 

This would hinge on the feasibility of low-carbon technology while considering potential trade-offs, given that many climate technology solutions, such as carbon capture and storage, are still expensive.

One question to consider would be whether Singapore should accelerate decarbonisation now, from 2025 to 2035, or wait until some of these technologies become cheaper to deploy or some of its international partnerships have matured, said Ms Low.

For example, Singapore has signed only two international carbon credit agreements with Papua New Guinea and Ghana, with other potential partnerships in the pipeline.  

This would mean that emissions will likely stay at a higher fixed level for longer, before a sharper decline after 2035 or in 2040, added Ms Low.

Singapore will be submitting its new climate targets in early 2025, said NCCS.

The consultation period, which opened on Oct 8, will close on Nov 5. The public can submit their feedback here.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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