SINGAPORE, July 3 — Stepping up its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Singapore submitted its intended pledge today to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce its Emissions Intensity by 36 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.
Defined as amount of greenhouse gas emitted per dollar GDP, Singapore targets to reduce its Emissions Intensity to 0.113 in 2030 from 0.176 in 2005.
At the same time, Singapore also aims to stabilise and limit emissions in 2030 at 65 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e).
The Republic will be the 17th country to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC, ahead of the annual conference in Paris in December to develop a new post-2020 global climate agreement.
The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) said the Government will adopt a multi-pronged approached to reduce emission across all sectors.
Examples of new or enhanced sectorial measures include providing incentives and strengthening regulations for industry, encouraging walking and cycling in the transport sector, and supporting on-site generation of solar energy for buildings. More details will be announced by respective agencies at a later date.
With Singapore among the top 20 per cent most carbon efficient countries in the world, NCCS said Singapore will have to “build on past and ongoing efforts to achieve economic growth in a carbon efficient way”.
“For a very small country with limited alternative energy options, the stabilisation of our emissions with the aim of peaking around 2030 requires serious effort by everyone. We have to strive for higher levels of energy efficiency, including deployment of best-in-class technologies,” added Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change.
In the meantime, Singapore has been working towards reducing its emissions to achieve its unconditional pledge of reducing emissions by 7 to 11 per cent below business-as-usual levels by 2020. — TODAY
