COP29: Singapore pledges US$500m to accelerate capital flows into green projects
The Economic Development Board (EDB) has also launched a new grant that will give Singapore-based carbon project developers greater access to funding and support.
The logo of the United Nations-led COP29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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BAKU: Singapore has pledged to match every dollar up to US$500 million (S$670 million) for green and transition projects in Asia, as part of the nation’s commitment to provide climate financing solutions in the region.
Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu made the announcement on Tuesday (Nov 12) at the United Nations (UN) Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.
“As a financial hub, Singapore is doubling our efforts to mobilise financing to support the global climate action,” she said in a pre-recorded welcome address at the launch of the Singapore Pavilion at the annual climate change summit.
“This combined pool of concessional capital will be used to crowd in commercial capital and other sources of finance to accelerate capital flows to support Asia’s green transition.”
The dollar-for-dollar pledge contributes to the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P), which was launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore last year.
The FAST-P blended finance initiative aims to raise US$5 billion with international partners to make climate action less financially risky. The funds will come from sources such as other governments, philanthropists and development banks.
SINGAPORE’S ROLE IN COP
World leaders are gathered at the UN-led climate talks to discuss reining in rising global temperatures and transitioning from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources.
A key aim at this year's meeting is getting more cash for poorer nations to help them cope with the impacts of climate change and aid their green transitions.
Ms Fu said that while the world has made progress since the Paris Agreement, efforts thus far are insufficient to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Singapore is committed to do our part despite being an energy-disadvantaged city-state,” she added. Singapore, as a major financial centre, is well placed to play a central role to provide innovative green and transition financing solutions in the region.
The minister urged delegates to build partnerships and collaborations on climate action during the two-week conference.
The theme at the Singapore Pavilion is “Realising Our Shared Climate Vision Together”. The space will welcome international stakeholders to discuss topics including carbon markets, finance, energy transition, food and water.
SINGAPORE’S GREEN PROGRESS
Ms Fu said during her address that Singapore has made good progress on its climate goals so far.
“Our climate ambition is backed by a whole-of-nation Singapore Green Plan that charts out concrete actions and targets,” she added.
The targets include increasing solar energy capacity in the country to at least 2 gigawatt-peak – the equivalent of meeting the annual electricity needs of around 350,000 households – by 2030.
Other objectives are greening at least 80 per cent of buildings by 2030, and raising clean electricity imports by 2035 to around 6 gigawatts, which will account for about a third of the nation’s energy supply.
As part of the revised nationally determined contributions (NDC), Singapore aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and slash emissions to around 60 million tonnes in 2030. Emissions are expected to peak at around 65 million tonnes between 2025 and 2028.
Ms Fu noted that Singapore has submitted its inaugural Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) and National Inventory Report to the United Nations.
The reports detail a country’s actions on addressing climate change, with information such as its progress towards NDCs, policies and measures, financial and technological support in the area and greenhouse gas inventory.
Ms Fu called on parties to the Paris Agreement to submit their BTRs before the end of the year, as required under the UN’s Enhanced Transparency Framework.
EDB’S NEW CARBON GRANT
Also at COP29, the Economic Development Board (EDB) launched a new grant that will give Singapore-based carbon project developers greater access to funding and support.
The grant aims to address the lack of financing in the area and spur development and investment in more carbon projects.
EDB said Southeast Asia has a wealth of potentially investment-worthy projects in areas ranging from forest conservation to blue carbon removal.
The additional help will support developers in their feasibility studies, which include data collection and stakeholder engagement. The hope is that this will in turn boost the global supply of high-quality carbon credits.
The initiative is the government’s latest move to develop Singapore into a carbon trading centre.
Depending on the initial interest and developments, the EDB said it will refine the initiative down the line.
The statutory board’s executive vice president Lim Wey-Len said the grant will spur the development of more high-quality carbon credits that can be used to meet Singapore's climate goals.
Carbon credits are one of the pathways to meet net-zero ambitions, especially for hard-to-abate sectors such as manufacturing.
“We see a lot of interest from carbon project development companies (who are) starting to set up shop in Singapore and to access the credits around this region to support this demand,” Mr Lim said.
Currently, there are over 120 carbon services companies in Singapore. EDB hopes the grant will attract even more carbon project developers to the nation.
Mr Lim added the grant could help to create more job opportunities locally in the growing green economy sector.
