Not meaningful for Singapore to contribute monetary support to loss and damage fund: Grace Fu
GIVEN Singapore’s current capacity and resources, it would not be meaningful for the city-state to contribute monetary grants to the loss and damage fund, Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu said in Parliament on Wednesday (Jan 10).
Instead, the country would be better placed to help other claimant states through technology transfers and capacity building, she added.
She was responding to a supplementary question by Member of Parliament for Sengkang Group Representation Constituency Louis Chua, who asked if Singapore would be contributing to the loss and damage fund.
The historic loss and damage fund, which won operationalisation approval on the first day of negotiations at the United Nations climate change conference last year, has been hailed as a big win for climate talks.
“We believe that we can play a role to facilitate, to develop capabilities, to do technological transfers, capability building, capacity building. That’s where we can play to Singapore’s strengths and its role as a financial centre.
“And so, we don’t think that our current capacity or our resources would be meaningful in contributing grants in L&D (loss and damage), but we definitely will be supporting other developing countries,” said Fu.
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The fund is to be financed by developed countries, and developing nations can draw money from it to aid their recovery from the impacts of climate change.
At the end of the two-week-long climate conference in Dubai, at least US$700 million has been pledged to the fund by developed economies such as the European Union, Japan and the US.
There has been public interest on whether Singapore would be claiming or contributing to the loss and damage fund.
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This is because Singapore is classified as a developing country in international climate negotiations, even though it is now among the richest countries in the world on a gross domestic product per capita basis.
This means that Singapore is not automatically considered to be part of the group of developed countries expected to contribute to the fund.
In fact, it could be a potential claimant in theory, though details regarding who is eligible to claim and who could contribute financing are still being worked out.
Fu previously said that Singapore will not claim from the fund, despite investing heavily in coastal protection measures. Instead, it will support fellow countries from the Alliance of Small Island States – a negotiating bloc which Singapore is a part of – to help them receive money from the fund.
During the exchange with Chua in the chambers on Wednesday, Fu asked the opposition member Workers’ Party’s position on whether Singapore should contribute to the loss and damage fund.
Chua said Singapore has a part to play through various financing mechanisms, such as by introducing seed funding, though it may not be a main contributor.
Fu said the government’s position and that of the Workers’ Party are aligned. Singapore is already doing that through a blended finance initiative called Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership, with the government contributing concessional capital with the ultimate aim of raising US$5 billion through this scheme.
However, she noted that the loss and damage fund has a very specific purpose, with eligible developing countries looking to claim grants, which are not the same as concessional loans or seed capital.
“But if the member would like to suggest a sum to the government to contribute to loss and damage, I would really welcome his suggestion,” said Fu.
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