Singapore recently unveiled its Green Plan 2030, which the government described as a "whole-of-nation movement to advance Singapore's national agenda on sustainable development."
The plan lays out Singapore's commitments under the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement, putting the city-state in a position to achieve its long-term net-zero emissions goal.
The objectives lined out include provisions for a greener, more liveable city, a reduction of carbon emissions, increase in the use of renewable energy, creating new green jobs and building up the country's climate resistance.
Under the plan, only car and taxi registrations of "cleaner-energy models" will be accepted from 2030, while the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points will double to 60,000. Landfill will be reduced by 30%. And at least 20% of Singapore's schools will be carbon neutral.
The Plan is regarded as an acknowledgment that Singapore has plenty to lose from climate change. Temperatures are likely to increase in Singapore and over the longer term rainfall could be affected too.
But the biggest risk could be sea level rise. The island lies about 15m above sea level. While Singapore is taking measures to mitigate the effects of sea level rise, flooded coastal areas could result in population displacement in neighbouring countries. Rising sea levels could also affect the country's food supply, as farmers everywhere grapple with its effects on agriculture.
Will Singapore's new policy be enough to head off the worst effects of climate change?
'Extremely weak' targets
Probably not, says Vinod Thomas, a Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, who describes the targets as 'extremely weak'.
By 2050, Singapore currently aims to cut emissions by 50% from their peak (which is predicted to come in 2030), with no definite deadline for reaching net zero emissions.
However, other countries have been more ambitious in their targets. So far, 110 countries - accounting for about half the world's Gross Domestic Product - have pledged carbon neutrality by 2050, including the UK, Korea and Japan. A few, like Sweden and Finland, hope to get there sooner. China is aiming for 2060.
"With 95% of energy coming from a fossil fuel – natural gas – the Republic lags enormously in climate mitigation, in other words, actions to slow climate change. The mitigation plans as they stand are paltry," Prof Thomas said.
However, Singapore has been doing a much better job on climate adaptation, he added, noting that the city-state had committed to building coastal defences and established improved drainage systems.
What can be done?
Prof Thomas says Singapore needs to accelerate its shift away from the natural gas-based power sector towards renewable energy.
One way to do this is through a carbon tax. There is wide agreement among economists that a price on carbon is vital to reducing emissions. At present, Singapore's carbon tax is a modest S$5 per ton of carbon emitted. Prof Thomas says that while its introduction is an important step, this needs to go further.
"The tax should really be doubled or tripled within 3 years, noting the far higher range in Europe – from S$32 in Great Britain to the highest US$126 per ton in Sweden," he said.
At the same time, he says Singapore needs to put more resources into renewable energy. Plans for solar energy only aim to meet about 2% of Singapore's energy demand in 2025. Prof Thomas says the goal should be closer to 15% by 2030, through an aggressive domestic production plan as well as imports from solar producers like Australia.
Reducing energy demand could also help. One initiative in Singapore is district cooling, which is the centralised production of chilled water, which is then piped to buildings for air conditioning. One such project at Marina Bay saves enough energy to power 24,000 apartments. Less air travel would also help.
The changes will require a significant re-ordering of Singapore's economy. All banks should follow the lead of DBS, which has decided to stop funding coal projects, and the oil and gas sector should prepare for a significant restructuring, Prof Thomas said.
Climate leadership in a global crisis
Regardless of its policies, there is no way Singapore can fix the problem on its own. Because of its small size, Singapore accounts for around 0.1% of global emissions. If the country cut its emissions to zero overnight, the world would still face a huge challenge.
But Prof Thomas says that doesn't excuse the city-state from showing leadership on the issue. While its overall emissions are small in the context of the global scale, the average Singapore resident generates 8 tons of carbon emissions every year, which is twice the world's average.
"Singapore cannot expect Southeast Asia, among the highest polluting regions in the world, to cut emissions drastically if its own metrics are in the wrong cell," he said.
(Photo: Sergio Sala)