Singapore urges governments, businesses to act on climate change

This comes as US federal policies have seemingly turned against renewable energy.

Nature is more powerful than politics or economics, Singapore’s Climate Ambassador Ravi Menon told the British Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Dialogue on 9 September, urging governments and businesses to act on climate change.

He noted that US federal policies have turned against renewable energy and clean technology, with rhetoric fuelling a mood of “green hushing” as companies avoid being seen as too climate-friendly. Some countries, he warned, are using this shift as an excuse to roll back their own commitments, whilst trade frictions and geopolitical risks add to the list of delays.

“Climate change is already happening – and accelerating,” Menon said, stressing that while it is too late to stop climate change, it is not too late to prevent its most catastrophic consequences. He cautioned that countries and companies delaying action face a “disorderly transition” in a carbon-constrained, climate-impaired world.

By contrast, Menon highlighted that the UK and Singapore are staying the course on climate action, not because it is easy but because it is necessary to remain competitive and resilient. Both are among 13 countries to have submitted 2035 emissions reduction targets under the UNFCCC.

In his speech, Menon identified six key enablers policymakers must get right for an effective transition to a greener economy. Menon shone a spotlight to blended finance and climate technology, in particular low-carbon technologies, which are areas Singapore has been making progress.

Menon pointed to Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P), a US$5b platform launched to mobilise capital for Asia’s green transition. He noted its latest milestone — the Green Investment Partnership (GIP) achieved its first close at $655m (US$510m), halfway to its $1.28b (US$1b) target.

Of this, $65.46m (US$51m) in concessional capital from Singapore was matched by an equal amount from other governments and philanthropies, which in turn attracted $523.66m (US$408m) of commercial capital. The fund will now begin investing in renewable energy, electric vehicles, and waste management projects across Asia.

Menon also highlighted joint UK-Singapore initiatives to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, which account for nearly 40% of global emissions.

This includes work on low-carbon fuels like biofuels, methanol, and ammonia for the maritime sector, supported by new bunkering guidelines.

On carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), Singapore is partnering with Indonesia and Malaysia on cross-border storage, while companies like Shell and ExxonMobil explore aggregating emissions from Singapore’s petrochemical sector.

He also noted Singapore’s Sembcorp is working with the UK’s Zero Degrees Whitetail on one of the UK’s first net-zero power stations.

“It is also noteworthy that amid the general sense of fragmentation in the world, there are many inspiring instances of partnership and collaboration. The UK and Singapore have been shining examples of mobilising climate action not just for our two countries but beyond our borders. For it is not enough that the UK and Singapore achieve net-zero. The world must do so too. There is a lot more that our two countries can, and must do, together,” Menon concluded.