MAS’ total emissions up 14% YoY in FY2023

The central bank said it remains on track to reach long-term climate targets.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) saw its overall carbon emissions climb by 14% YoY to 14,327 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in the financial year ended March 31.

MAS’ total emissions for FY2023 rose from 12,531 tCO2e in FY2022, but still remained 10.7% below the FY2018 baseline of 16,301 tCO2e, according to its latest Sustainability report.

For energe-related emissions which account for nearly 30% of the total, MAS’s Scope 2 emissions in FY2023 went up 8% YoY and also 10.5% higher than the FY2018 baseline. 

The central bank traced its higher Scope 2 emissions to higher power consumptions in its data centre to meet business needs, exacerbated by increasing use of AI and work transformation applications. 

Ageing central air conditioning system in Currency House also contributed to the higher energy-related emissions. MAS said it is already implementing additional measures to meet its Scope 2 reduction target by FY 2025.

“MAS’ carbon budget framework has helped to manage our emissions from business air travel and we are on track to achieving our targets,” MAS said. “We also remain on track to meeting our targets for outsourced currency operations emissions, through our on-going initiatives such as encouraging e-payments and the use of Fit notes for festive gifting.”

By FY2025-26, MAS aims to trim its Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 (business air travel) emissions by 17.5% from the FY2018 baseline. MAS is working to further trim its carbon footprint to 30% below baseline by FY 2030-31.

It also aims to cut Scope 3 (outsourced currency operations) emissions by 10% by FY2025 and further reduce this figure by 20% by FY2030.