Singapore will raise its national climate target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, announced Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Oct 25.
The Republic will also reduce emissions to around 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2030 after peaking emissions earlier, as part of a revised 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). This is down from 65 MtCO2e previously.
Speaking at Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2022, Wong says Singapore will submit these updates to its Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by the end of 2022.
The two updated commitments are the latest in a series of rapid changes over two years. In 2020, Singapore aimed to halve its emissions from a 2030 peak “as soon as viable in the second half of the century”.
At Budget 2022 in February, Wong said Singapore will aim to reduce emissions to net zero “by or around mid-century”.
In September, the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) sought the public’s views on the 2050 net zero timeline and the possibility of an updated 2030 peak target.
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The NCCS received 490 responses through the online public consultation, close to two-fifths (38%) coming from respondents aged 20 to 29.
According to the survey’s results, released Oct 25, 66% of respondents felt that the proposed enhancement to Singapore’s climate ambition to achieve net zero by 2050 was "not sufficiently ambitious”, while 26% agreed that it was “just right”.
Those who indicated that Singapore was “not sufficiently ambitious” were asked to propose a suitable net zero year, and 126 respondents specified a year between 2040 and 2049. Meanwhile, 62% of 304 responses agreed that Singapore should enhance its 2030 NDC.
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Public sector initiatives
To lead the way for Singapore’s decarbonisation journey, the public sector will commit to achieve net zero emissions around 2045 under the GreenGov.SG initiative.
GreenGov.SG is the public sector’s sustainability movement and a key enabler of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
Key targets and measures include a peak to the public sector’s carbon emissions around 2025 and achieving net zero emissions around 2045, about five years ahead of Singapore’s national plans.
All public sector premises will deploy solar photovoltaics “where feasible”, and the public sector will increase solar deployment to 1.5GWp by 2030.
From 2023, all cars newly procured and registered by the public sector will be clean energy vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions, and all public sector cars will run on cleaner energy by 2035.
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Finally, the public sector will procure more electricity from clean energy sources and step up research investments on carbon capture and storage solutions.
In addition, the public sector will improve water and energy efficiency within its premises, along with better waste management.
Jurong Lake District
The Jurong Lake District will also aim to achieve net zero emissions for new developments around 2045. The 410ha “new growth area” in western Singapore is planned to be the largest mixed-use business district outside the city centre.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has worked with agencies to introduce four key strategies in the district.
Firstly, all new developments will be required to achieve BCA’s Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy (SLE) standards. This includes new residential developments.
Secondly, URA will maximise solar energy deployment on buildings and vacant land within the district “as a transitory measure” to offset the district’s emissions while the national grid is being decarbonised over time.
This includes creating interim solar farms on vacant land “not needed for development in the next 15 to 20 years”. URA will roll out these solar farms within the next few years in tandem with the completion of new developments in the district, tentatively from 2028 onwards.
Thirdly, all new developments will be required to use district cooling. By connecting to the district cooling system, space within the developments that were previously set aside for chiller plants can now be freed up for higher value uses, says URA. The authority will launch a request-for-proposals in the coming months to appoint an operator.
Finally, the district will emphasise a “car-lite” vision, including fully electric buses that will be deployed on feeder services by 2030.
By the 2030s, two new MRT lines will serve the district: Phase 2 of the Jurong Region Line, which is currently under construction and is expected to be operational in 2028; and Phase 2 of the Cross Island Line, which is expected to be ready by 2032.
