Channel NewsAsia 13 Dec 07;
"Our view is, if Singapore is to take on any commitment, if there are going to be any caps, it has to be taken into account that we are not quite favourably disposed as a country or favourably situated as a country, as compared to the resource-rich and energy-rich nations."
BALI, Indonesia: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the process to work out a roadmap for a new post-Kyoto Protocol framework will be a challenging one.
He gave this assessment on Thursday at the UN Climate Change Conference on the island of Bali in Indonesia.
For more than a week, representatives from some 190 countries convened on the island resort to try and work out a new climate change deal to replace the current one, which expires in 2012.
However, the process has been slow, with developed and developing countries taking diverging views on their responsibilities.
Although Mr Lee expects the road ahead to be a long one, he concedes the meeting in Bali is an important first step.
He said: "They will work out some agreement on the roadmap but the decision about what to do, how much to do, who to do it is expected to be very difficult. It's a complicated problem, but it's also one where the countries have very different perspectives and priorities."
One stumbling block, said Mr Lee, is the position that America has taken.
It is not part of the Kyoto Protocol and has not indicated that it will be part of a new framework.
But he added that this may change if there is a new administration after the US presidential elections next year.
"So I don't see the US position as being the last word," said the prime minister.
On Singapore's efforts to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases, Mr Lee said the Republic will continue to look into alternative energy like solar energy.
But Singapore may still have to depend on fossil fuels in the meantime as solar energy is expected to be an expensive alternative, at least for the next five to ten years.
Mr Lee said: "Our view is, if Singapore is to take on any commitment, if there are going to be any caps, it has to be taken into account that we are not quite favourably disposed as a country or favourably situated as a country, as compared to the resource-rich and energy-rich nations."
While in Bali, Mr Lee met various leaders who are also attending the conference.
He described the meeting with Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as "good", adding that he would like to strengthen relations with the new administration.
Mr Lee also said he had a good discussion with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has been invited for a retreat in Singapore next year to discuss the progress of the Special Economic Zone that is to be jointly developed by both countries.- CNA/so
