Despite the failure to reach a legally binding agreement on climate change at the recent United Nations summit in Copenhagen, Singapore will commence to implement measures to reduce its carbon emissions, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim yesterday.
But the cuts will not be the full 16 per cent below business as usual (BAU) levels by 2020 pledged previously on condition that a legally binding global deal on climate change was reached in Copenhagen.
Dr Yaacob said yesterday the emission reduction measures that Singapore will implement, announced under the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint launched in April last year, will reduce about 7 to 11 per cent of the city-state’s emissions below BAU levels by 2020.
When a global agreement on climate change is finally reached, Singapore will implement additional measures to achieve the full 16 per cent reduction previously pledged, Dr Yaacob told Parliament.
Dr Yaacob was responding to queries by Nominated Member of Parliament Paulin Tay Straughan on the implications of the recent climate conference for Asean and Singapore.
He noted that although the political deal – called the Copenhagen Accord – achieved is not perfect, “it provides a step in the direction of arriving at a global legally binding framework agreement to address climate change”.
The accord outlines the key elements of long-term goals, mitigation, financing, adaptation and technology transfer, and calls for developed and developing countries to state their commitments and actions respectively in appendices.
Dr Yaacob said it was “premature to assess the implications of the outcome… as here was no significant outcome or broad consensus on the key substantive issues”.
Still, climate change is a key issue for many Asean countries as “we are collectively and individually vulnerable to the adverse impact of global warming”, he said.
On queries by Assoc Prof Straughan and MP Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) on the threat of rising sea levels to Singapore, Dr Yaacob said that based on current data, Singapore “is okay” but studies are underway to better understand its impact over the longer term.
This study is currently being subjected to international peer review to ensure that there is enough rigour and robustness and when completed, will be announced to the public, he said.
As for the time frame of when Singapore’s coastal areas will be under threat, Dr Yaacob said simply: “frankly, nobody knows. The time line is very very long.”
But Singapore is doing what it can to improve its resource efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.
Answering a request by NMP Mildred Tan for updates on the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, Dr Yaacob highlighted that $1 billion has been set aside over 5 years to implement initiatives, and since April last year, various incentive schemes and other investments in sustainable development have been announced.
This includes $100 million to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings, $43 million to implement cycling infrastructure in some HDB towns and $31 million to test-bed solar technology.
A multi-agency taskforce co-chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is also spearheading the test-bedding of electric vehicles in Singapore, with $20 million set aside to support infrastructure development and test-bedding activities, he noted.
The taskforce is working with various automotive manufacturers and electric vehicle charging infrastructure providers on their plans to test their solutions in Singapore from 2010.
Commenting on Singapore’s solar energy potential, Dr Yaacob said the cost of solar-generated electricity at the moment is still about twice that of grid electricity generated from fossil fuels.
“The technology is evolving and the price gap may narrow over time. Our approach is therefore to invest early in solar technology testbedding projects to prepare to use solar technology on a larger scale when the cost of solar energy falls closer to that of conventional energy,” he said.
The Housing Board (HDB), for example, is embarking on an island-wide test-bed to deploy solar technology within 30 public housing precincts by 2015.
A further $680 million has been allocated to build new capabilities in clean energy and water technologies – sectors which can potentially create an economic value-add of $3.4 billion and generate employment of 18,000 by 2015, he noted.
This blueprint will evolve as targets will be fine-tuned to take into account factors such as improvements in technology, changes in cost and public response, added Dr Yaacob.
