Business Times 27 Nov 09;
The factors: its size, cost competitiveness considerations
SINGAPORE's policy response to climate change is limited by its size and considerations of cost-competitiveness, local economists said at a forum yesterday.
Monitoring the environmental impact of individual internal projects and focusing on optimising technology to boost energy efficiency is more realistic than committing to carbon emission targets, some participants at the 12th Singapore Economic Roundtable said.
Opening the session on climate change with a presentation on policy implications, Bindu Lohani, vice-president of the Asian Development Bank, said it is 'in the best interest of all, particularly the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific, to transition to low carbon growth'.
The global recession has created an opportunity for such a transition, as significant resources have been dedicated to green investments under various government's stimulus packages, he said.
To meet reduced carbon emission targets, he said, policymakers should promote low carbon policies by transforming their energy and transport and agriculture sectors, as well as better using carbon markets.
With just over a week to the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen, Dr Lohani said its success requires an agreement to address mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology transfer issues. In the discussion that followed, one economist said it is a pity the global conversation on climate change has focused on 'which country should cut carbon emissions and by how much'.
For Singapore, he said, it has always been a 'terms of trade issue'.
Imposing carbon taxes does not yield huge revenues, but affects trading competitiveness disproportionately, especially since the dent Singapore can make in global carbon emissions would be negligible.
Another local economist said Dr Lohani's suggestions that policymakers invest in energy-efficient buildings and projects, and encourage businesses to adopt green technology, would be more applicable to Singapore's context.
