Letter from Christopher James Thong Yew Kwong, Straits Times Forum 25 Dec 07;
THE proceedings over the last two weeks at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali and the statement by Mr James Hansen, Director of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, in San Francisco over the weekend (on shutting down coal plants globally to avert irreversible effects of global climate change) make one wonder what's in store for the environment in Singapore as our economy continues to grow with the ever increasing oil prices.
Speaking to friends involved in the energy sector in Singapore, all sorts of solutions seem to be making their way to the table, but of greater concern to the man on the street are the environmental implications of these solutions.
One of the cheapest sources of power generation, I am told, is coal. In fact, with our close proximity to Indonesia and our strong relationship with China (both countries with huge coal reserves, and more importantly, cheap reserves), should we be looking at coal in the near future to move away from the record high fuel costs that we are seeing today? I know that there are no coal powered electricity plants in Singapore, and the question arises as to why not?
But then again, based on Mr Hansen's statement, we shouldn't be building coal plants in Singapore or, for that matter, anywhere in the world. Mr Hansen said the planet is at a "tipping point" which could lead to rising sea levels, severe droughts and floods, and reduced fresh water supplies if world leaders do not act to reduce emissions such as carbon dioxide. He claims a "point of no return" is avoidable with a moratorium on coal-fired power plants that do not capture carbon emissions.
I am not an engineer, but I do know that rising water levels and an island don't quite mix well.
What assurance do we have to ensure that in the quest to reduce the cost of electricity, appropriate controls are in place to ensure that companies don't start building pollutive coal plants in Singapore which will engulf us in a smog similar to Beijing's? Or worse, still contribute to the worsening greenhouse gas situation globally?
I would like to take this opportunity to raise several questions to the National Environmental Agency:
1. Will the NEA allow coal-powered electricity plants in Singapore? And if so, how do we prevent Singapore from being smog engulfed like many other cities? Worse still, how about Mr Hansen's statement above? Coming back from Bali, does the NEA have a view?
2. Is there clear legislation on what emissions are allowed in power generation in Singapore, and where can these be found? Are these clear enough to prevent companies from shifting to a cheaper fuel in their quest to produce cheaper electricity? We know that there are already power plants here burning high sulphur fuel oil. Do these meet the emission requirements?
3. What part is Singapore playing going forward to help the greenhouse gas situation? Are we going to take a firm position both domestically and globally to prevent the "point of no return"?
