Singapore Aims to Reduce Carbon Emissions to Shoot for Net Zero by 2050

Singapore is going ambitious in a bid to make net zero emissions a reality for the city-state by 2050.

Deputy Prime Minister and Ministery for Finance Lawrence Wong, in his energy lecture during the Singapore International Energy Week on Tuesday, told guests that the government will be enhancing its 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Wong said Singapore initially committed to peak the city-state's emissions in 2030 at 65 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.Now, he said Singapore will aim peak its emissions earlier than committed and reduce its emissions to around 60 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2030.

"This five million tonnes improvement is significant," Wong was quoted as saying in his uploaded speech by the Ministry of Finance on Oct. 25. "It is equivalent to reducing our current transport emissions by two-thirds."

According to him, these enhanced targets will be useful for Singapore to achieve its longer-term goal of net zero emissions by 2050, even though it is a "stretch target" due to the city-state's "limited options to deploy renewable energy."

Singapore is responsible for only 0.1% of global emissions. Nevertheless, the government is determined to push for this ambitious net zero goal.

The enhanced targets for 2030 will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November in line with the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Wong also outlined some strategies to achieve net zero, which will involve the commitment of businesses and individuals in Singapore to adopt greener alternatives and reduce energy consumption.

This includes the carbon tax and high petrol taxes, which are crucial in shaping responsible behaviour of businesses and individuals. As per Wong, the carbon tax will be raised from S$5 per tonne of CO2 equivalent to around S$50 to S$80 by 2030. The carbon tax at present covers 80% of Singapore's emissions.

As carbon taxes mean higher costs for businesses and individuals, they can avail themselves of support schemes and utility vouchers to be more energy efficient.

Wong ultimately underscored that the Singaporean public at large must do their part to achieve the city-state's goals.

"As you can see, our net zero path is not an easy one. But we have chosen to boldly commit ourselves to this journey because we believe we have a responsibility to do our part in this global climate transition effort," said Wong.

"We will do our part to accelerate our green transition and achieve net zero, because we want to leave behind a greener and better country for our future generations of Singaporeans. "