SINGAPORE'S leaders have thrown their political weight behind the upcoming climate change negotiations in Copenhagen by pledging to cut the city-state's carbon emissions growth by 16 per cent below 'business as usual' levels by 2020.
Announcing this on Wednesday, Senior Minister S Jayakumar said that this was on condition of a global deal on climate change being reached at the Copenhagen talks, which begin on Monday.
As a low-lying island, Singapore is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and a rise in sea-level can have serious consequences for us, said Mr Jayakumar. 'So despite the fact that Singapore contributes to only 0.2 per cent of global carbon emissions, it will play its part,' he said.
The voluntary actions to acheive this target will be through a combination of regulatory and fiscal measures, he said. Details will be announced at a later date.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who was also at the briefing, said the 16 per cent figure was a 'stretched target' derived from some of the targets in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint launched in April. The blueprint was a national plan on how Singapore could further reduce its carbon emissions.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim added that even though Singapore is in a disadvantaged position, with little alternative forms of energy available, it wanted to show leadership by committing to this target, to help reach a global deal by the end of the Copenhagen negotiations.
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