Budget 2022: Boost to green plan from public sector green bonds, more EV chargers

SINGAPORE aims to issue up to S$35 billion of green bonds by 2030 to fund public sector green infrastructure projects. These will include bonds issued by the government and statutory boards.

On Friday, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the government will publish a Singapore Green Bond framework and issue its inaugural green bond later this year.

"Green finance is just one of many exciting new areas of green growth," Wong said. "There are many more such opportunities across every sector of the economy."

The government aims to have Singapore at the forefront of green technologies, where new innovations can be developed, trialled, scaled up and exported to the rest of the world.

"We will work hard to grab first-mover advantage and develop new engines of growth in the green economy," said Wong.

Singapore also intends to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) by building more charging points closer to where people live. Green bonds can help finance these infrastructure upgrades.

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The government has provided significant incentives for EV adoption, Wong said. Within a year, the EV share of new car registrations has jumped from 0.2 per cent in 2020 to around 4 per cent last year.

Singapore wants to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040.