Last year, the Singapore government launched the Singapore Green Plan 2030, or Green Plan, intending to advance Singapore’s national agenda on sustainable development. The Green Plan aims to galvanize ambitious and collaborative action, such as the future green trade finance effort through the CIX marketplace and numerous climate change activities. It positions Singapore to attain its long-term net-zero emissions goal as soon as possible.
The Green Plan is spearheaded by five ministries and consists of five essential pillars: City in Nature, Sustainable Living, Energy Reset, Green Economy, and Resilient Future. To attain these pillars, the Singapore government has implemented a wide range of initiatives and support policies in the research and development, energy, green finance, land transport sectors, and sustainable tourism.
Initiatives and Support Measures
Enterprise Sustainability Initiative. As part of the Singapore government’s efforts to empower, invest in, and partner companies and communities in the green transition, Enterprise Singapore (“ESG”) introduced the S$180 million Enterprise Sustainability Programme to assist Singapore companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, in their sustainability journey and to capture opportunities in the green economy in to stay competitive in the local and global economy.
The assistance will be focused on three critical components: creating sustainability capabilities in businesses, enhancing sector-specific capabilities, and cultivating a vibrant and supportive sustainability environment. ESG collaborates with industry partners to create training workshops and capability or product development projects.
Leading Green Finance Center. A primary goal of the Green Plan is for Singapore to be a regional and worldwide leader in green finance. The Singapore government revealed in Budget 2022 that the public sector will issue S$35 billion in green bonds by 2030 to support public sector green infrastructure projects to facilitate Singapore’s shift to a low-carbon economy and accelerate Singapore’s development as a green finance powerhouse.
The Singapore Monetary Authority is also developing a comprehensive, long-term strategy to make sustainable finance a distinguishing aspect of Singapore’s status as an international financial center and is actively promoting sustainable financing. The Green Finance Industry Taskforce, for example, has issued a detailed implementation guide for financial institutions to disclose climate-related information, a framework to assist banks in assessing eligible green trade finance transactions, and a white paper outlining proposals and laying out a roadmap to expand green finance in the real estate, infrastructure, fund management, and other transition sectors.
Deployment of solar panels. As Singapore moves toward a greener, lower-carbon future, the Singapore government intends to boost solar deployment and energy storage development to solve solar intermittency and improve grid resilience. Solar PV systems have been placed on the rooftops of Housing Development Board apartments and estates, the Changi Business Park, the central business area, and the Tengeh Reservoir to help the city-state meet its solar target.
Carbon trading and the global market. Climate Impact X, or CIX, is envisioned as a worldwide green trade finance and carbon exchange marketplace that will supply corporations with high-quality carbon credits and practical climate-change solutions. CIX will contribute to meeting the global demand for high-quality carbon credits, which is expected to more than fifteenfold by 2030 to 1.5 to 2 GtCO2 annually2.
It will be the world’s first carbon exchange and marketplace to use satellite monitoring, machine learning, and blockchain technology to improve the integrity, transparency, and quality of carbon credits. To take advantage of the country’s internationally recognized financial and legal infrastructure, CIX will be headquartered in Singapore.
The Green Plan reflects Singapore’s will to take decisive action to create a more sustainable future and combat climate change.
The Singapore government has described the Green Plan as a “living plan” that would change alongside Singapore society as new technologies and solutions bring new opportunities.
As global sustainability efforts gain steam, Singapore has a greater urgency to meet its Green Plan ambitions if it aspires to lead the area in sustainable development and funding.
Nonetheless, the Singapore government’s Green Plan initiatives and measures are proactive and real moves toward a low-carbon future.
