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Energy consumption is the main cause of carbon emissions in Singapore. We aim to transform the way we use energy, and adopt clean sources of energy to mitigate our emissions.
Our Key Targets
On October 2022, Singapore announced that it would raise its national climate target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of our Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy. We will also reduce emissions to between 45 to 50 million tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) by 2035, as part of our 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). This builds on our 2030 NDC to reduce emissions to around 60 MtCO2e by 2030, after peaking emissions earlier.
Our Main Plans
Transformation Across All Sectors
To mitigate climate change, we need to transform the way we use energy. We are pushing for our industries to be among the best-in-class globally in terms of energy efficiency, developing super low energy buildings, promoting the use of public transport and encouraging households to conserve energy.
We are also developing ways for the transport and industry sectors to competitively transit away from fossil fuels. We plan to have all vehicles running on cleaner energy by 2040, and are funding research to develop decarbonisation technologies in partnership with industry.
Four Supply Switches
Harnessing the four supply switches of natural gas, solar, regional power grids, and low-carbon alternatives, together with more efficient use of energy, will allow us to overcome our energy challenges and achieve energy supply that is sustainable, affordable, and reliable.
Improving Energy Efficiency
The Issue
Energy is essential for our day-to-day living and powers our economy. Our energy consumption has risen as our nation develops and population grows. We must ensure that this precious resource is used wisely, to strengthen energy security and reduce our environmental impact.
Improving energy efficiency may not require drastic changes in lifestyle. It can be achieved by using energy in a smarter way. This not only reduces carbon emissions, but also helps us save on our utility bills.
Our Efforts
Households
Major energy-consuming household appliances must carry an energy efficiency label to allow consumers to make informed purchases. These appliances must also meet minimum energy performance standards before they can be sold in Singapore.
In 2020, we launched the Climate-Friendly Household Programme (CFHP) which offered Climate Vouchers to 1-, 2- and 3-room HDB households to switch to more resource-efficient appliances. The CFHP was subsequently enhanced, providing a total of $400 worth of Climate Vouchers to all HDB households and Singapore Citizen households living in private residential properties. Households were also given the flexibility to use vouchers across a broader range of ten eligible products, including common resource-intensive products with high usage rates such as fans and washing machines.
Industries
The Energy Efficiency National Partnership offers resources and learning activities to help companies improve energy efficiency, and recognises those that have performed well.
The Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) aims to support businesses in their sustainability journey by co-funding investment in energy-efficient equipment. As of 30 December 2024, eligible companies in Construction, Food Services, Manufacturing (including Food Manufacturing), Maritime, Retail Sectors and users of data centres will be able to tap on EEG.
Public Sector
The public sector is taking the lead in improving energy efficiency. We have set targets for energy efficiency, and retrofitted buildings to achieve Green Mark standards. We are also greening our procurement process by purchasing energy efficient lighting, appliances and ICT equipment, as well as asking for guaranteed energy savings when contracting for retrofits of chilled-water systems.
Four Supply Switches
The Issue
The use of fossil fuels to power Singapore results in carbon emissions. Clean energy sources can help us meet our energy needs while minimising our environmental impact.
The Challenge
Singapore is an ‘alternative energy-disadvantaged’ country, as recognised under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Our small land area, location and other physical attributes make it hard for us to adopt alternative energy sources such as hydroelectricity, wind energy and geothermal energy. Solar power is the most viable option, and we have increased our use of solar energy in recent years. Nonetheless, it is limited by factors such as space constraints, cloud cover and humidity.
Our Efforts
Our goal is to build a sustainable future energy mix by harnessing the four supply switches of solar, regional power grids, emerging low-carbon alternatives and natural gas.
We have set a target to deploy at least 2 GWp of solar by 2030. This will meet around 10% of peak daily electricity demand today, enough to power around 350,000 households in Singapore. We are pursuing innovative approaches to solar deployment to overcome our space constraints, such as deploying floating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on our reservoirs and offshore waters. This includes Singapore’s first large-scale floating solar PV system of 60 MWp at Tengeh Reservoir, which is one of the world’s largest inland floating solar farms. It comprises over 122,000 solar panels spread out across 10 floating solar panel islands. The clean energy generated allows more of PUB’s water system to be powered by renewable energy. This is equivalent to powering about 16,000 four-room HDB flats and reducing our carbon emissions by about 32 kilotonnes per year, the same as taking 7,000 cars off Singapore's roads.
Regional power grids will allow us to access cleaner energy sources beyond our borders. We aim to import up to 6 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity by 2035, which would make up around one-third of Singapore’s projected electricity supply then.
To enable longer-term decarbonisation, we are also exploring the use of emerging low-carbon solutions. These include carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), low-carbon hydrogen and advanced nuclear technologies.
We will also increase the efficiency of our gas-fired power plants to reduce emissions.