Singapore will kick-start the process of buying carbon credits to offset its emissions, with a request for proposal to be launched later this year for the procurement of such credits, said Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng on Thursday (6 Mar).
While carbon credits can already be bought and sold through various platforms, not all credits meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement.
Specifically, under Article 6 of the international treaty to limit global warming, the transfer of carbon credits between countries must result in corresponding adjustments. This means that the emissions being offset are counted only by the country that bought the credits; the country that produced the credits cannot use them to meet its own climate targets.
Singapore has signed carbon credit transfer agreements that meet Paris Agreement requirements with three countries, with Bhutan being the latest, after Papua New Guinea and Ghana.
These agreements are also aligned with Singapore’s environmental integrity criteria, said Dr Tan, during the Committee of Supply debate on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Budget.
Singapore previously set a target to reduce emissions to 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030, to be partially achieved through carbon credits. It recently announced a further target of cutting emissions to between 45 million and 50 million tonnes by 2035. Besides purchasing carbon credits, Singapore is looking at ways to decarbonise its power sector to achieve these climate goals.
