S'pore's greenhouse gas emissions dipped in 2023 but could rise again

While decline is significant, sustaining it is key even as economic activity grows

- Ang Qing

An electric taxi being charged at an electric vehicle charging point in Tampines. The decline in Singapore's greenhouse emissions in 2023 was partly driven by a continued decrease in petrol and diesel consumption in the transport sector, which reflects progress towards achieving the target of 100 per cent cleaner energy vehicles by 2040.

(ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI)

The Republic's planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions dipped to 55.5 million tonnes (Mt) in 2023, largely owing to a fall in manufacturing output from the petrochemical sector.

This was a 5.3 per cent drop from the previous year's emissions of 58.59Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq), the National Climate Change Secretariat said on its website on Dec 19.

CO2 eq is a term used as a measurement of total greenhouse gases emitted.

While the decline is the first since 2008, analysts told The Straits Times that sustaining the decrease in emissions is key.

This is the most recent report on Singapore's greenhouse gas emissions.

The drop was mainly due to less greenhouse gases being directly released by the industry sector, the largest contributor to Singapore's emissions, according to the secretariat, a group under the Prime Minister's Office.

The sector accounted for nearly half of those emissions in 2023, followed by the power sector at 38.7 per cent, and the transport sector at 11.7 per cent.

Also driving the decline in emissions was a continued decrease in petrol and diesel consumption in the transport sector, which reflects progress towards achieving the target of 100 per cent cleaner energy vehicles by 2040, the secretariat said.

But it also noted that emissions could still rise before 2030 because of economic conditions and the progressive implementation of Singapore's mitigation measures.