SG Budget 2017: Carbon tax on greenhouse gas emissions to start from 2019

THE Singapore government will implement a carbon tax on the emission of greenhouse gases from 2019, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Monday.

The plan is to have a tax rate of between S$10 and S$20 per tonne of such emissions, which is within the range of what other jurisdictions have implemented.

"It will create a price signal to incentivise industries to reduce their emissions, complementing the regulatory measures which we are also introducing," he said.

The tax may spur the creation of new opportunities in green growth industries such as clean energy. The revenue collected will help fund measures by industries to reduce emissions, and Mr Heng said the impact on most businesses and households would be "modest".

The tax will be applied upstream, such as on power stations and other large direct emitters, rather than electricity users.