Singapore wants to be Asia's carbon services hub: DPM Heng

SINGAPORE is looking to establish itself as a carbon services hub in Asia, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Monday, as the Republic seeks new business opportunities in a region with growing needs for sustainable development.

"Efforts to limit the growth of carbon emissions will increase the demand for engineering, legal, and consultancy services related to carbon services," Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, said in his ministerial statement in Parliament.

The Alliance for Action for Sustainability is market-testing some concepts and business opportunities, he said.

An important enabler of green growth is finance, Mr Heng said, and Singapore is developing financing solutions and markets here.

This will help firms finance their adoption of more sustainable practices under the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Green Finance Action Plan, he said.

These are part of wider plans to further promote the decarbonisation of the economy and pursue initiatives for a more sustainable economy, he added.

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He gave the commitment that the government will continue to invest in research into energy and resource efficiency technologies and encourage the adoption of these technologies through incentives.

Such technologies would include hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage to complement Singapore's existing research and development efforts.

At the same time, Singapore is pushing for a circular economy through the Zero Waste Masterplan and is increasing its deployment of renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, at both the national and industry levels.