SG60: Singapore at 60 – a sustainability journey and the way forward

As a small island with no natural resources, Singapore has, since independence, always embraced sustainability. Today, in the face of the global climate crisis, Singapore has both deepened and broadened that emphasis in a way that balances environmental stewardship, economic growth and social inclusion.

Some major economies are, sadly, scaling back on their hard-fought climate commitments in the light of geopolitical and economic tensions. But, Singapore remains resolute in its climate ambition. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong gave this assurance in his Budget 2025 statement.

Singapore’s commitment to net zero by 2050 is more than a climate responsibility. It is a strategic national priority to safeguard our economy, energy security, public health and long-term resilience.

But the road ahead is arduous. While Singapore has made significant progress, this SG60 milestone prompts a serious and timely reflection. What have we achieved, and what more must be done?

A journey rooted in necessity and innovation

Singapore’s sustainability journey began from necessity. Due to its land constraints and high population density, the city’s leadership and its people had to be resourceful and innovative from the outset to ensure that it could develop sustainably. Proof of this can be found in three areas.

Water resilience – a shining example

Singapore’s “Four National Taps” strategy – imported water, local catchment, NEWater (reclaimed) water, and desalinated water – is a shining example of foresight and innovation.

What was once a vulnerability has become a strength, with weather-resilient NEWater and desalinated water playing an important role in enhancing the resilience of our water supply.

Urban planning and green spaces

Urban sustainability has long been a cornerstone of Singapore’s development. The government’s commitment to green urban planning has resulted in Singapore being known first as a Garden City and now as a “City in a Garden”.

And this is more than just a clever slogan. Over 40 per cent of Singapore’s land is covered by greenery, and initiatives such as the Park Connector Network, rooftop gardens and vertical greening on buildings have redefined urban living.

Energy efficiency and clean energy push

Singapore has also focused on improving energy efficiency and diversifying our energy sources.

While we are limited in renewable energy options, we have made significant investments in solar energy and are exploring regional power grids.

For instance, we will import clean energy from our neighbours and are working closely with them on an integrated Asean Power Grid (APG). This supports Singapore’s goal of importing up to 6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy – about 30 per cent of our power needs – by 2035.

SG60 and beyond: the challenges ahead

Despite these strides, Singapore’s sustainability ambitions face several complex challenges.

To reduce emissions to around 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050, Singapore’s strategy focuses on four areas, namely:

Each of these focus areas has inherent challenges. But investing in low-carbon technologies and pursuing international collaborations on carbon markets and renewable energy call for even more courageous and transformative initiatives to succeed.

Investing in low-carbon technologies

Low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage are seen as critical enablers by many countries to achieve net zero. However, the nascency of such technologies, high production costs and infrastructure gaps make widespread reliance on them by the mid-century uncertain.

The Singapore government is therefore in partnership with the private sector and research institutions, facilitating green research and development (R&D) focusing on climate tech, carbon capture, hydrogen, nuclear energy and safety, and sustainable materials, among others.

Such green R&D initiatives include Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 funding and support for relevant startups through Enterprise Singapore and SGInnovate.

For instance, PUB has announced Phase 2 of Equatic-1, an expansion of an ocean-based CO2 removal (CDR) prototype in partnership with UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management (ICM) and Equatic, a private US startup.

Dubbed “the world’s largest ocean-based CDR plant, when operational by 2025, this demonstration plant will remove up to 10 tonnes of CO2 per day and produce hydrogen, which is a clean-fuel by-product.

NEA is also working with Keppel Seghers to assess the feasibility of installing carbon capture technology at its waste-to-energy plants.

International collaborations

Singapore’s ambition to import up to 6 GW of renewable energy by 2035 from neighbouring countries under the APG is a bold step to decarbonise its power sector. However, it faces significant geopolitical, technical and economic challenges.

First mooted more than two decades ago, progress has been slow due, among other reasons, to countries having different technical, legal and regulatory standards for grid operation as well as grid infrastructure gaps across nations.

Nonetheless, some headway has been made over the past few years. For instance,last year Singapore doubled its clean electricity import from Laos from 100 MW to 200 MW.

The government is also collaborating with international partners to develop both the voluntary and the regulated compliance carbon credits markets to allow companies to offset hard-to-abate carbon emissions while waiting for low-carbon technologies to mature.

Carbon-taxable firms are allowed to use eligible credits to offset up to 5 per cent of their taxable emissions each year. They must purchase these credits from carbon projects hosted by countries that Singapore has bilateral agreements with. Currently, there are seven such countries including Bhutan and Peru.

As carbon credits from the voluntary market are unregulated, there are concerns about the integrity and quality of such credits. To address these concerns, the government has recently released a draft guide for companies planning to voluntarily use carbon credits.

It has also partnered the UK and Kenya to form an alliance called “The Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets” to raise the standards of the unregulated voluntary carbon market globally and spur adoption. It is hoped that more nations will join the alliance.

Transition to net zero – embracing opportunities

While challenges abound, the opportunities are equally significant.

The government is playing its part by putting in place the necessary regulatory frameworks and policies, as well as initiatives under the Singapore Green Plan 2030 such as carbon tax, investments in green public transport and innovations in the green finance sector.

For businesses, the sustainability transition is no longer just a corporate social responsibility activity. It is an existential imperative. Companies that fail to adapt risk being left behind as more investors, regulators and consumers demand environmental, social and governance (ESG) accountability and eschew greenwashing.

SG60 can be a launch pad for bold, visionary initiatives that bring us to SG100 and beyond, where Singapore remains green, resilient and thriving.

Our commitment to decarbonise opens up a range of green growth prospects across multiple sectors. Singapore can position itself as a regional leader in the green economy, creating exciting new economic and job opportunities.

Let me illustrate two such opportunities:

Green finance and carbon services

Singapore has been actively building itself into a regional hub for green finance, ESG investment, and carbon services and trading.

The growing carbon market is expected to drive demand for goods and services related to low-carbon project development, project financing, trading, consultancy and measurement, reporting and verification.

New job roles that have been created include sustainability finance relationship manager, climate risk analyst, carbon project developer and green finance engineer. Skills in many disciplines, including engineering and AI, are needed.

Singapore now hosts more than 150carbon services and trading firms, double thatin2021, and is becoming the largest such hub in South-east Asia. Market-ready initiatives such as Climate Impact X (CIX) and Air Carbon Exchange (ACX) are actively operating in the Asia-Pacific carbon credit trading landscape.

The industry forecasts 4,000 to 5,000 new sustainable finance jobs in the next decade, and more than 50,000 financial professionals to receive green skills augmentation.

The Economic Development Board estimates up to US$5.6 billion of value-add by 2050 from carbon services, signalling its long-term economic impact.

Clean energy

Singapore’s regional renewables import strategy has progressively moved from pilot to large-scale development. The initiative achieved the first multilateral trade of 100 MW hydropower from Laos via the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, which has since doubled to 200MW.

The Republic has also made progress on agreements to import green energy from our neighbours, including Indonesia and Malaysia.

Hence, while challenges such as legal and regulatory complexities as well as the need for massive investment remain, the initiative is well under way and will generate many new jobs and economic opportunities for the participating countries.

Then senior minister Teo Chee Hean noted at the Ecosperity Week on May 6 that with continued investment and cross-border cooperation, the Asean Power Grid could lift regional gross domestic product by up to 4.6 per cent and create thousands of green jobs.

A pivotal juncture

At 60, Singapore has proven that with wit and gumption, size need not be a barrier to success.

SG60 is not the culmination of a journey. It is the gateway to a new era – one where Singapore can shine, not just as a smart city, but as a vibrant, sustainable nation.

This requires a whole-of-nation approach:

All of us, government, businesses and individuals, must work together and remain resolute in our ambition to ensure that Singapore remains a thriving and sustainable nation, come SG100 and beyond!