S'pore will decarbonise, but not at the expense of livelihoods, energy security: Tan See Leng

Singapore will press ahead with decarbonisation, but not at the expense of livelihoods and energy security.

- Timothy Goh

Decarbonisation must be balanced against Singapore's ambitions and the affordability of energy for the Republic's households and businesses, said Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng.

"We must remain adaptable and pragmatic in responding to the prevailing geopolitical zeitgeist... Decarbonisation will come with costs, but we will not pursue decarbonisation at all costs," he said at the voco Orchard hotel on Oct 24.

Dr Tan was speaking at the 17th Singapore Economic Policy Forum, organised by the Economic Society of Singapore and the National University of Singapore. The event was attended by 150 economists, business leaders and academics.

In his speech, he noted that if major economies scale back their climate commitments and Singapore presses on regardless, it could be outcompeted.

For example, one of Singapore's approaches to drive decarbonisation is its carbon tax, which puts a price on emissions and incentivises businesses to cut their carbon footprint.

But the challenge lies in setting it at the right level, said Dr Tan.

Too low, and it fails to spur decarbonisation in line with Singapore's Nationally Determined Contributions, which set out the country's emissions reduction target for 2035. Too high, and it hurts business competitiveness.

"(Singapore's) carbon tax of $25 per tonne of CO2 emitted is already the highest in our region. If we are not careful, we could end up simply transferring economic activity alongside the emissions from Singapore to another country," he noted.