Tan Yong Soon Business Times 24 Aug 10;
CLIMATE change is one of the most important and pressing challenges facing the international community.
However, it is not easy to reach a global agreement to address climate change.
The United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December did not result in a global legally binding agreement to address climate change.
The issues are complex and the politics inherently divisive.
Many governments are reluctant to sacrifice current economic growth as the most severe consequences of climate change will only be evident over the long term, while the economic costs of preventive actions are huge and must be paid upfront.
As a small and low-lying island state, Singapore is vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
A rise in sea level and temperatures can have significant consequences for us.
We thus have a stake in seeing the issue effectively addressed. It is important to have an agreed global regime that commits everyone to take action. Without such a global regime, every country would act for itself, promoting undesirable unilateral actions.
Singapore's role
Singapore has been active at the UN negotiations to arrive at a new global framework for long-term cooperation to address climate change, participating in both the ministerial and official tracks.
As a member of the Group of 77 (G-77/China) as well as the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), and also given our unique position as a small but successful developing country, Singapore has tried to play a constructive and moderating role in the negotiations.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim had participated in numerous climate change-related meetings, such as the recently concluded REDD+ Partnership in Oslo in May 2010 which allows developing and developed countries to act together to reduce deforestation.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua have also represented Singapore in discussions at the UN secretary-general's High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing.
Asean countries are vulnerable to climate change. Singapore will do its part in promoting greater awareness and to encourage closer cooperation on climate change.
In 2009, the Asean Working Group on Climate Change was launched during the Asean Environment Ministers meeting in Singapore.
It seeks to build common understanding of climate change issues and enhance regional sharing of information on vulnerability risks and adaptation measures.
The Singapore government is serious about our domestic efforts to address climate change.
Before Copenhagen, Singapore had announced that we would undertake actions to reduce our emissions by 16 per cent below business-as-usual (BAU) in 2020, contingent on a legally binding global agreement and all countries implementing their commitments in good faith.
This is a significant contribution, given our constraints in switching to non-fossil alternatives to reduce emissions from the power sector.
Our early actions in the past, such as our policy to limit car population growth and our switch from oil to natural gas for electricity generation have also limited our ability to further reduce emissions.
To ensure that Singapore is prepared for climate change threats and opportunities, a dedicated National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) under the Prime Minister's Office was set up on July 1, 2010.
The NCCS coordinates climate change policies across government agencies.
It supports the international negotiations and also coordinates domestic mitigation and adaptation responses to climate change through an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change (IMCCC), chaired by Senior Minister Professor S Jayakumar and comprising the Ministers for Finance, Trade & Industry, Foreign Affairs, Transport, National Development, and the Environment & Water Resources.
With limited access to clean and renewable energies such as wind, geothermal and tidal energies, we have fewer options to reduce emissions.
Our approach to reduce emissions is primarily to improve energy efficiency in all sectors.
We also actively invest in research and development (R&D) and test-bedding of alternative energy sources so that Singapore will be better-positioned to adopt these technologies when they improve and their costs come down.
The Sustainable Singapore Blueprint (SSB), launched in April 2009, represents a major national effort to reduce our energy intensity.
It lays out measures to reduce emissions up to 2030 and sets targets to reduce emissions in four key sectors - industry, transport, households and buildings.
The government has announced plans for an Energy Conservation Act to come into effect in 2013 to facilitate a coordinated approach to standards for energy efficiency and energy management for companies that consume significant amounts of energy.
The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has undertaken vulnerability studies to better understand long-term physical impacts such as sea-level rise, temperature profile and wind.
Preliminary results indicate that existing infrastructure is sufficient to address the risks in the short to medium term. Studies on secondary impacts such as biodiversity, energy demand and public health implications are on-going.
However, uncertainties remain on the extent of climate change and when it will unfold. Making sense of these uncertainties will require risk assessments and regular reviews and updates of our design parameters as global models and the understanding of climate science improve.
New opportunities
There are new opportunities from addressing climate change. While Singapore is a small player, we have sought continually to stay relevant. We have been successful in turning challenges and potential adversities into opportunities.
Alternative energies are unlikely to form a significant part of our fuel mix in the near or even medium term.
However, with technological advances, Singapore can turn our alternative energy-disadvantaged situation into a competitive advantage in the long-run. We can be a reference site for emerging ideas to be tested before larger cities adapt and adopt similar practices.
Singapore has declared an emissions target. However, government actions alone are not enough. We need everyone to play a part. We will need to make conscious changes in our behaviour and choices, such as cutting down energy wastage at home and at the workplace.
Climate change is one of the most difficult challenges facing Singapore and the global community.
We will need ideas, innovation and to make some trade-offs. Singapore has always taken a balanced approach to growth and sustainability and we have been reaping the fruits of our on-going efforts as a reference site for other countries and cities.
Only by working together, can we have a chance of success.
Tan Yong Soon is the Permanent Secretary, National Climate Change, Prime Minister's Office. This article was adapted from Mr Tan's keynote address at the Conference on EU and Asian Policy Responses to Climate Change Energy Security Post-Copenhagen on July 26, 2010
