Singapore must specialise and build on strengths to accelerate sustainable solutions: Grace Fu

SINGAPORE: Singapore must specialise and build on its strengths and expertise to accelerate the implementation of sustainable solutions, said Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu on Tuesday (Jun 7).

During her keynote speech at the opening dinner of sustainability conference Ecosperity, Ms Fu said the country can leverage its position as a trusted global financial hub to propel the growth of green finance and carbon services in the region.

This will enable businesses to access the capital they need to innovate, operationalise and scale their green projects, she said.

While the country lacks natural renewable energy sources and has limited land, the finalisation of the Paris Agreement’s headline carbon trading rules - also known as "Article 6" - has created an opportunity for Singapore to support countries who have untapped natural renewable energy sources through carbon credits trading.

Ms Fu stressed that collaboration between the public and private sectors within Singapore is “imperative” in creating and commercialising sustainable solutions to reach a larger market.

She added that the Government is also keen to partner the private sector to support pilots for low-carbon technologies and evaluate their potential to scale.

“While the technologies and solutions to decarbonise still remain out of reach, or not yet commercially viable, collaboration within industry, and across industries will provide us with game-changing solutions,” she said.

Last month, Singapore joined a global initiative which seeks to use a coalition of companies’ purchasing power to create early markets for innovative clean technologies across eight hard-to-abate sectors. This would then serve as a launchpad for them to reach commercial scale.

Ms Fu said she hoped these would open doors for businesses in Singapore to innovate with like-minded partners and unlock access to low-carbon technologies.