Singapore: Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced on Thursday (November 4) that by 2050, Singapore will phase out its unabated use of coal.
Unabated coal refers to the process of burning coal without carbon capture and storage, capturing and storing carbon dioxide before it is released into the atmosphere.
The announcement came as Singapore announced its membership of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
In addition to the 2050 target, Singapore has also committed to internationally restrict direct government financing of unabated coal power.
PMO said in a media statement: “Since independence, Singapore’s dependence on coal has been negligible and currently accounts for less than 2% of its electricity generation.”
Singapore is one of the 27 new members of PPCA and one of the first Asian countries to join the alliance.
“Coal burning puts billions of people at direct risk. This is why Singapore decided to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance,” said Grace Fu, Minister of Sustainable Development and Environment, at the COP26 Energy Presidential Conference on Thursday.
She added that Singapore is “fully committed to accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future”.
She said: “We will transform our industry, economy and society to improve energy and carbon efficiency, and use more low-carbon energy to support the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
PMO stated that Singapore’s goal is to use low-carbon energy throughout the economy as part of its carbon transition and other initiatives under Singapore’s Green Plan 2030.
It added that the country will use “four switches” to change its energy supply-natural gas, solar, regional grids and emerging low-carbon alternatives.
Singapore has also signed a statement on the transition from global coal to clean energy initiated by the British COP26 presidency, which aims to “accelerate the international momentum of the global energy transition.”
“This is a commitment to international efforts and cooperation to move from coal-fired power generation that does not reduce emissions in the 2040s (or as soon as possible thereafter), stop issuing new permits, and end the government’s commitment to new coal-fired power generation that does not reduce emissions. The project is directly supported globally,” PMO said.
PMO said that although Singapore has limited options for large-scale deployment of renewable energy, its commitment to phase out coal complements its plan to transition to a low-carbon future based on a long-term low-emission development strategy.
It added that tackling the complex global challenge of climate change requires effective international cooperation, and each country must do its part.
“Singapore seeks to cooperate with international and regional partners to achieve effective cooperation, strengthen consensus, and stimulate global collective action.”
