SINGAPORE will not be claiming from a fund that compensates countries for the loss and damage that they face arising from climate change. Instead it will support fellow countries from the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) to help receive money from the fund, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on Dec 11.

Speaking to reporters outside the Singapore pavilion at the United Nations COP28 climate talks, Fu said that the Republic will not claim from the loss and damage fund despite investing heavily in coastal protection measures. Singapore has estimated that at least S$100 billion will be needed in the long-term to fight against rising sea levels.

“What we really want to see is help (given) to our fellow islanders, our brother and sisters in Aosis to help (them) tap these funds, as many face difficulties doing so due to the lack of technical capacity to do so,” she added.

At least US$790 million has been pledged so far to the historic loss and damage fund, which sees developed countries who have contributed largely to climate change paying developing countries for the climate-induced damages that they are currently experiencing. The fund will be hosted through the World Bank for the first four years.

Singapore is part of the Aosis negotiating bloc, which includes many small island states such as the Pacific Island nations, which have already experienced climate change very acutely, such as through the loss of land and property damage due to sea level rise. Some communities have also been forced to relocate.

To receive money from the fund, countries will need to submit plans and feasibility studies. The lack of technical capability to provide such information is often what is holding them back from submission, Fu added.

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Singapore could help countries that are developing their national adaptation plan, which needs details on how they deal with food and water security.

“So I think Singapore plays a useful role in getting capability building, technical assistance, working with other countries that have the ability to do so, the resources to do so, to help our fellow island states to get better access (to the fund) to help them recover faster from disaster,” Fu added.

World Bank being the host of the fund was a sticking point for developing countries, as they were worried that it was not truly an independent fund as it is based in the United States, and the administrative processes required of them would hence make it difficult for them to access the money.

In February, Fu said in Parliament that Singapore, classified as a developing country in international negotiations, is an eligible recipient of the loss and damage fund.

She added at that time that Singapore had not decided then if it would contribute to the fund, or claim from it, a position which drew the ire of youth climate groups here which felt that it would be “unjust” for the Republic to take from the fund, as it could deprive other climate-wrought countries from getting the compensation that they needed.

Asked by The Straits Times at COP28 on whether Singapore will be contributing to other sources of finance, such as adaptation or climate finance in general, Fu said: “We see our role really as galvanising finance... The idea is that from the little resources that we have in Singapore, how (we) can lever up...like a fulcrum. From S$1 that we are putting on the table, we are able to get S$7, S$8, S$9 of funding.

“We have put in some money to start that funding arrangement and we are very optimistic that the amount that we have on blended finance, the amount that we put into the seed companies, for example, will see scaling effects in the years to come.”

The Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership’s US$5 billion blended finance initiative is meant to channel finance to projects that would otherwise not be profitable, such as those in clean energy, nature-based solutions, and waste and water management. This initiative involves Singapore’s central bank and other partners like the International Finance Corporation and Temasek.

Fu and Norway’s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide are facilitating negotiations on mitigation at COP28, which is a key prong of the Paris Agreement as it entails reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C.

When asked whether countries are going to agree on a term like the “phase-out” of fossil fuels, or whether there might be other options that come up later on, she said: “I think the issue about energy transition is a significant one. The presidency has really made this the core issue. What we have found over the last few days is that there’s a great convergence over the need to move to 1.5 deg C and for ambition.”

However, countries are divided on how to get there, especially as they all have many concerns and expectations, she added.

One of the hotly debated points of COP28 is the language around the “phase-out” of fossil fuels, and whether it will be a complete phase-out, or only the phase-out of “unabated” fossil fuels. Abated fossil fuels refer to the use of carbon capture technologies to ensure emissions are less emission-intensive.

Fu said: “So we will have to work through the language to find possible landing zones... I think the intention is to have a good energy transition message, and I think that is still a work in progress.”

As for Singapore’s position on fossil fuels, she said that Singapore is still reliant on these, given the limited natural energy and renewable energy sources here. Singapore is powered by around 95 per cent natural gas.

“We’re also talking about the possibility of importing of renewable energy form the region, which is really going out of our comfort zone, if you think about issues with energy security, but we felt that it is an important part for us to decarbonise our energy sector,” she added.

Singapore is also looking at new technologies like green hydrogen, which is not cost-effective at the moment but crucial for Singapore to explore in order to play its role in energy decarbonisation.

“We are also accountable to our own people for the economic livelihoods...so we have to strike a balance in accelerating our decarbonisation journey and also making sure that the transition is an orderly, reasonable one that gives us affordable and accessible energy,” she added. THE STRAITS TIMES