Debated in Parliament on 12 Sep 2022.
Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment with regard to the Inflation Reduction Act that was enacted by the United States (US) in August 2022 (a) how will this Act and its projected impact on carbon emissions affect our Singapore Green Plan 2030 and its targets; and (b) how will this Act contribute towards the US-Singapore Climate Partnership to grow our efforts on sustainability and low-carbon solutions.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Biden administration has committed US$369 billion (S$516 billion) in energy and climate spending over 10 years. This is a large investment by the US to tackle climate change. Our agencies will identify opportunities for collaboration with the US. Given the US’s technological leadership, these could include investment in shared priorities such as clean energy and low-carbon solutions, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and green technologies.
Singapore has also stepped up climate change cooperation with the US under the US-Singapore Climate Partnership announced by PM Lee Hsien Loong and US Vice President Kamala Harris in August last year. The Climate Partnership is a useful platform for bilateral cooperation on areas including quality carbon credit markets, sustainable finance, energy transitions, clean energy infrastructure development, and sustainable transport.
It also has synergies with other initiatives that Singapore and the US are working closely together on. These include the bilateral US-Singapore Partnership for Growth and Innovation (PGI) launched in October 2021, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) launched in May 2022. Singapore will continue to work with the US to identify opportunities to strengthen our collaboration through the Climate Partnership and other bilateral and regional initiatives. As a living plan, the Singapore Green Plan will be regularly reviewed as new technologies and solutions present us with new options.
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