Budget 2022: Singapore to target net zero 'by or around mid-century'

SINGAPORE will raise its climate ambitions by pledging to achieve net zero emissions "by or around mid-century". The previous goal was to achieve net zero emissions "as soon as viable in the second half of the century".

The move will align the country with the timeline recommended in the Glasgow Climate Pact, an agreement reached at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference - more commonly referred to as COP26.

At the conference, countries were urged to get to net zero emissions by or around the middle of the century, to keep alive the ambition of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Announcing this in his Budget speech on Friday (Feb 18), Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said Singapore, unlike many other countries, is "highly disadvantaged" by a lack of natural renewable energy sources.

"We do not have huge rivers or hot springs to draw hydro and geothermal energy power. We do not have the land for wind or solar energy to be sufficient for our needs," he said.

But Singapore can review its long-term climate goals now as it has become more confident of future abatement options internationally, Wong pointed out.

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"Thankfully, green technologies have been improving by leaps and bounds. Alternative low-carbon solutions, like carbon capture, ultilisation and storage, and hydrogen, are starting to look more plausible. Carbon markets are also growing steadily," he said.

Besides, at COP26, Singapore had helped to finalise a landmark decision on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which unlocks the door for carbon credits to be traded on a global scale, he stated.

"With advances in technology and new opportunities for international collaboration in areas like carbon markets, we believe we can bring forward our net zero timeline," Wong said.

Following Friday's announcement, the Government will decide on a specific net zero year, and make a formal revision to Singapore's long-term low-emissions development strategy (LEDS) later this year.

But before that happens, the authorities will first consult closely with industry and citizen stakeholder groups to firm up and finalise plans.

Singapore last submitted revisions to its LEDS to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on Mar 31, 2020, along with a change to its nationally determined contribution - an absolute emissions target to peak emissions at 65 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent around 2030.

As it currently stands, the climate ambition spelt out in the LEDS is to halve emissions from its peak to 33 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, with a view to achieve net zero emissions as soon as viable in the second half of the century.