About Climate Change

Singapore will deepen research capabilities in climate science and study the impacts of climate change, particularly on Southeast Asia.

Climate change will threaten our access to water and food. As a low-lying tropical island city state, we are also vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Hence, even as we reduce our carbon emissions, we must adapt to the impacts of climate change and invest in measures to safeguard our future.

The carbon tax is an integral part of our comprehensive suite of mitigation measures and transition to a low-carbon economy. It provides the price signal and impetus for businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint, and thrive in a carbon-constrained world. It also helps businesses remain competitive in a low-carbon future, by enhancing the business case to invest in low-carbon solutions, and capture opportunities in the green economy.

We have made pledges under the Paris Agreement, and updated our Nationally Determined Contribution and Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy. We co-facilitated negotiations on climate mitigation measures at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties. We also contribute to global efforts led by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to address emissions from the aviation and maritime sectors.

We communicate the implications of climate change to various stakeholders and encourage them to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The build-up of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere has trapped more heat, resulting in a warmer planet. Temperatures in Singapore have risen by 0.24^oC per decade from 1984 to 2024, while 2016, 2019 and 2024 were the hottest years¹ recorded thus far. A warmer climate leads to the thermal expansion of the sea and melting of glaciers and ice caps, which in turn leads to rising sea levels, threatening our island nation. There may also be more frequent extreme weather events.

1. Hottest year is calculated based on the annual mean temperature for each year. All three years experienced an annual mean temperature of 28.4^oC.

Much research has been done on the impacts of climate change on the global scale, but different regions may be impacted differently. More research needs to be contextualized to Singapore and our surrounding region to inform our adaptation plans.

The Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) under the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) is one of the few dedicated tropical climate research centres, and a key node for climate and weather research in Singapore. CCRS runs high-resolution regional climate models to produce long-term projections of rainfall, temperature, wind and sea level in Singapore. CCRS has released the results of Singapore's Third National Climate Change Study (V3) (https://www.mss-int.sg/v3-climate-projections) in 2024 to provide updated projections.

A carbon price is needed to ensure that emitters take into account the environmental impact of carbon emissions in the decisions they make.

Singapore implemented a carbon tax in 2019. It provides the price signal and impetus for businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint, and thrive in a carbon-constrained world. It also helps businesses remain competitive in a low-carbon future, by enhancing the business case to invest in low-carbon solutions, and capture opportunities in the green economy.

The carbon tax is levied on facilities that emit 25,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent (tCO2e) or more annually. About 80% of our total emissions are covered by the carbon tax and fuel excise duties on transport fuels. Of our emissions, about 70% are covered by the carbon tax levied on about 50 facilities in the manufacturing, power, waste, and water sectors. This coverage is one of the most comprehensive globally.

The tax was set at $5/tCO2e from 2019 to 2023 as a transition period to give the industry time to adjust to its impact. To support our net zero target, the carbon tax was raised to $25/tCO2e in 2024 and will be raised to $45/tCO2e in 2026 and 2027, with a view to reach between $50-80/tCO2e by 2030. This will strengthen the price signal and impetus for businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint in line with our national climate goals.

The Government does not expect to derive additional revenue from the carbon tax in this decade. The revenue will be used to facilitate the development of decarbonisation solutions that require significant capital investment, support efforts to be more energy efficient, and facilitate the transition to a green economy.

Singapore is particularly vulnerable to the threat of rising sea levels, with 30% of our island less than 5 metres above sea level. Based on CCRS’s V3 results, we could experience a mean sea level rise by 0.23 to 1.15 metres by 2100 under the low to high emission scenarios, and by up to around 2 metres by 2150 under the high emission scenario.

Since April 2020, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, has taken on the role of the national Coastal Protection Agency. By combining coastal protection responsibilities with its stormwater management functions, PUB will look at inland and coastal flooding holistically to strengthen Singapore’s resilience against climate change.

The Coastal Adaptation Study (CAS) was commissioned by the Building & Construction Authority (BCA) to better understand the potential impacts of rising sea levels. This study was completed in 2019 and has helped us to prioritise vulnerable areas in our coastal protection plans. Building on these earlier efforts, the Government is progressively conducting site-specific studies and working with other stakeholders to develop strategies and engineering designs for coastal protection measures. The first of these studies at City-East Coast commenced in 2021. The studies now also cover the entire north-west coast from Tuas to Woodlands and Jurong Island. Agencies are also commencing technical studies for “Long Island”, which is a project that entails reclaiming land off East Coast to protect the low-lying area from sea level rise and meeting multiple national needs such as creating additional land for future development needs.