IF THERE was an expression that summed up the atmosphere at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), it would be “cautious optimism”. While nearly 200 countries signed the landmark Paris Agreement, most knew the hurdles they had to overcome to achieve those promised numbers. The upcoming COP28, which is set to assess and take stock of the progress made since COP21, is a much-needed reality check. It is time for countries to show their hands.

Singapore has many reasons to head to COP28 with its head held up high. Over the years, the city-state saw an increase in renewable energy investments and even managed to achieve several milestones. Despite the lack of renewable energy sources such as wind, large-scale solar and hydropower, Singapore’s progress has been good.

The numbers are on Singapore’s side – for the most part. Over the last 50 years, Singapore has successfully migrated from oil to natural gas as fuel for power generation. In fact, 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity is powered by natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel. In recent times, Singapore also announced the achievement of its 2020 solar target of 350 megawatt-peak and set a new solar target of at least 2 gigawatt-peak by 2030.