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LONDON: To mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the UK co-sponsored a Global Summit on Climate Ambition together with the United Nations and France, with the support of Chile and Italy last Saturday (December 12).
Demonstrating the will, determination and ambition to come together to save our planet, 75 leaders announced new commitments to climate action, including 45 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), 24 net zero commitments, including Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea. , and 20 adaptation and resilience plans.
At the Summit, Prime Minister Johnson announced the UK’s new NDC to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
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I was pleased that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong joined other world leaders in sharing Singapore’s plans to achieve net zero emissions by the second half of the century, quadruple solar power by 2025, and phase out gasoline and diesel cars by 2040 , through its Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS).
I commend and welcome Singapore’s commitment to invest in low-carbon solutions and advance green finance through a $ 2 billion (S $ 2.65 billion) green investment program.
In his message to delegates, Prime Minister Lee called on all countries, large and small, to come together and do our part. When you said that a global challenge like climate change required a global response, we in the UK strongly agree.
At the end of the Summit it was clear that by the beginning of next year, countries that account for around 65% of global CO2 emissions and 70% of the global economy will have committed to achieving net zero emissions or carbon neutrality.
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As the incoming president of COP26, the upcoming UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change to be held in Glasgow in November 2021, I am greatly encouraged by the important milestones reached by the global community.
But as our scientists, climate experts, and those facing this existential crisis on the ground well know, a radical shift in ambition is still needed for the world to mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis that we all face.
GLOBAL WILL STRENGTHENED
At the United Nations General Assembly in September, President Xi Jinping announced that China will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Japan and South Korea have also announced their ambition to reach net zero by 2050.
Earlier this year, Singapore took a step forward in its efforts to address climate change by announcing its LEDS, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.
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Singapore has invested significant resources in clean energy.
And I welcome the comments of the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, that climate change would be a top priority for his administration and the commitment of the incoming administration to rejoin the Paris Agreement.
Government and business leaders around the world are quickly recognizing that setting clear goals not only provides certainty to investors and businesses, but is also necessary for countries to meet the commitments agreed to in the Paris Agreement.
The transition to a carbon-free economy is accelerating and is the growth story of the future. According to the London-based consultancy Systemiq, the low-carbon economy has the potential to create up to 35 million new jobs by 2030.
By playing our role in such clean energy transitions, the British government will no longer provide any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector abroad. This is part of the UK’s commitment to being an even stronger partner for those looking to make the transition to a cleaner energy future.
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With natural gas at 95 percent of its energy base load and the country on track to meet 75 percent of its existing solar deployment targets by 2025, Singapore’s move towards a broader and cleaner energy mix is laudable.
I am proud to draw attention to the recent agreement between the UK government regulator for gas and electricity, Ofgem, and the Singapore Energy Market Authority to share lessons on grid decarbonisation, as both countries fight for an emission-free tomorrow.
ASSOCIATION FOR A GREEN RECOVERY
Singapore has an important role to play in supporting regional energy transitions, both as a regional financial center, a global travel hub, and a pioneering innovator with a known willingness to share its experience and learning with its neighbors.
The UK recognizes this and we are proud of the many ways our countries seek to work together to drive this win-win global outcome.
In November, we held the first annual UK-Singapore Climate Dialogue which, over the course of the three-day virtual event, saw high-level representatives from both sides demonstrate strong appetite for partnerships in research, trade, climate-focused policies and innovation in mobility, energy, finance and more.
A cyclist on the boardwalk near Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on November 28, 2020.
But climate change is not a problem that governments can solve alone. It will be necessary for all of us to act and act decisively.
Nine future-focused Singaporean organizations, including Singtel, City Developments and Olam International, have joined the UNFCCC’s Race to Zero campaign, led by UK senior climate champions Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Munoz.
The list now includes more than 1,000 major companies from around the world, such as BP, Shell, Barclays and HSBC, that are committed to net zero emissions by 2050. I urge everyone to join this collective commitment, from large multinationals to ambitious companies. Emerging businesses and even individual neighborhood entrepreneurs, every effort counts.
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Together with our businesses, the universities of both countries are also collaborating to identify the most pressing challenges and find sustainable solutions.
Imperial College in the UK and Singapore Management University have collaborated on Singapore’s first ever Green Finance Center of Excellence.
UKRI and NRF teamed up to jointly award £ 6 million (S $ 10.8 million) to four groundbreaking research collaborations between leading UK universities and Singapore to study the impacts of and solutions to marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia , home to some of the most beautiful, important and critically endangered marine ecosystems.
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It’s clear that Singapore, like the UK, not only takes the climate crisis seriously, it also has the ingenuity to find ways to adapt and mitigate the impacts on its land, its people and its economy.
THE ROAD AHEAD
World leaders and companies are off to a really positive start, but there is still a lot to do. Addressing and adapting to climate change, as we are all realizing, cannot wait.
The coronavirus pandemic has shown that our destinies are intertwined. Progress in vaccines has shown what we can achieve when the world unites against a common threat. And this should give us all hope.
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As the world races to manage the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19, we are faced with an important choice on our path to a global recovery: invest in rebuilding greener economies or block pollutant emissions for decades to come.
Because in the coming decades, each and every one of us, will have to be able to look future generations directly in the eyes and say that together, when the urgency of our time demanded it, we build a better world, for their good and for their future generations.
Hear from an expert discuss how nations can come together to fight climate change after China’s announcement of reaching net zero emissions by 2060:
Alok Sharma is Chairman of COP26 and UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
