Singapore navigating uncertain pathways to net zero: government sustainability chief

SINGAPORE cannot yet commit to a single set of pathways to reach its net-zero emission targets because there is too much uncertainty about which solutions will work best, said the country’s first chief sustainability officer (CSO).

“There are no pathways, but pathfinders, because the entire trajectory, all the way down to the solution level, is still unclear,” says Lim Tuang Liang, 51, giving his first media interview since his Jan 1 appointment.

Lim, who was formerly chief science and technology officer at the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), is the Singapore government’s point man in its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 for the country, and by around 2045 for the public sector. It is no small task.

“We have a lot of challenges from technologies in terms of maturity, in terms of cost,” Lim said.

That uncertainty about the right mix of solutions is illustrated by technology related to carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). CCUS refers to the process of capturing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil power generation and industrial processes for underground storage or re-use, and has been identified as a potential decarbonisation solution for Singapore’s energy and chemical sectors.

But Lim said that the challenge of adopting CCUS is that Singapore does not have large underground caverns or empty oil fields to sequester the carbon dioxide. How big of a role CCUS can play in Singapore’s net-zero plans therefore depends on the country’s ability to work with regional partners to capture and sequester some of the carbon dioxide that is generated from Jurong Island.

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Beyond CCUS, Singapore is also pursuing and assessing renewables such as solar, which Lim hopes can meet about 10 per cent of Singapore’s future needs; green energy importation; and new fuels and energy sources, such as hydrogen.

Job to “direct mustangs”

Lim could be the first country CSO appointment in the world, according to sustainability recruiters. The CSO is more commonly found in businesses, having risen to prominence in recent years as corporates confront their impact on the environment and communities.

Lim describes his job as a “chief coordinator” across government ministries, agencies, and companies, focusing energies so that the final result of everyone’s sustainability efforts can be larger than the sum of its parts.

“I see my role as a conductor. The policy planners compose the music, individual agencies play their sections (implementing), and, as the conductor, I oversee the different parts to ensure coordination and harmony to bring out the best in every part,” he said.

He let on that before taking on the role, he entertained the notion that driving sustainability in an organisation as big as the government would be as difficult as “herding cats”. But four months into the job, he has found the reality to be quite the opposite.

“It is not herding cats, (but) directing mustangs,” he said. “People are moving in slightly different directions, but all towards a good cause, all at top speed. It is just that sometimes you need to kind of align, so that we can create a greater amplification of the effect.”

Mustangs are found in Singapore companies and individual citizens as well, he added. “That’s the exciting part. Each of us draws energy from this movement.”

To be effective, a CSO has to be a strategist, a communicator, an influencer, as well as an innovator who is willing to challenge the status quo, think about solutions, and have the courage to disrupt an organisation from within, he said.

He added that it is too early to make a judgment on how he measures against that yardstick, although he noted that he was chosen for the role as government leaders are confident that he will be able to “learn and deliver”.

As far as learning goes, he is now taking public transport one to two days a week, instead of driving, as a way to glean some insights. 

The science part does not faze him, as his previous role entailed working with MSE agencies that happened to be among the bigger emitters within the government. It was a position that helped him to understand the technologies associated with water treatment, waste management, and agriculture.

That background has helped to shape a pragmatic approach, he said. Decarbonisation measures need to be “real, practical and implementable”, and agencies should adopt solutions in a way that “preserves value”, he said. While acknowledging that maturing technologies come with risks and trade-offs, costs are still an underlying concern, he added.

Singapore’s 2030 Green Plan helps by articulating clear targets and implementable steps, he noted. Practicable solutions, such as those driving energy efficiency in buildings, are already implemented with “a lot of commitment”.

In March, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced that up to 5 per cent of the evaluation points for large construction and information and communications technology tenders will be set aside for environmental sustainability from 2024.

Asked if the government might be ready to introduce more changes to its procurement processes to favour viable solutions that still command a green premium due to their lack of economies of scale, he said this is a work in progress.

“We are learning,” he said. “We are putting up some of these practices with a view of also understanding and evaluating, and having these conversations with industry as well.”

A caveat

Is Singapore’s net-zero target realistically achievable or more aspirational? Lim said that all ambitions start with an aspiration, “just as the moonshot was an aspiration”.

But “you cannot underestimate the power of human innovation… With aspiration comes the intense focus of industries, technologies and governments to deliver that aspiration,” he said.

Nevertheless, he has also come to terms with the fact that not everything is within his control.

“Even as we speak about our net-zero targets, we have a clear caveat: It is also subject to international developments, both from a market perspective as well as the technology perspective.”

Lim reckons that Singapore is “going as fast as we can”.

“It’s like we are trying to improve or modify the plane while it is flying”, he added.