STATEMENT DELIVERED BY FIRST SECRETARY (POLITICAL) TERENCE TAN, AT THE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL, UNHQ, 29 MARCH 2019

Mr President

Excellencies

Ladies and Gentleman

1        Singapore would like to align itself with the statements made by Palestine on behalf of the Group of 77 & China, and Belize, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States.

2        Singapore is committed to ambitious global climate action.  Our conviction arises not only from our extreme vulnerabilities to climate impacts.  More importantly, Singapore believes that climate change is an opportunity to transform the way we live, work and pursue economic growth in a sustainable way.  Global action calls on everyone, big and small emitters, to deliver urgent, collective and coordinated efforts.  At a time when multilateralism is under stress, this High-Level Meeting and the upcoming Climate Action Summit in September must send a strong and unequivocal signal that the world is united in combatting the greatest threat to our survival. 

3        Despite accounting for only 0.11 per cent of global emissions, Singapore has been playing its part by moving towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.  Allow me to make three points.   

4        First, despite our limited access to alternative sources of energy, Singapore will continue to rely on innovation and long-term strategic planning to overcome our natural constraints.  Singapore has co-invested in our industries to make them more energy-efficient.  Singapore is also the first country in Southeast Asia to implement an economy-wide carbon tax from 2019.  These policies will incentivise the transition towards a low-carbon economy and adoption of low-carbon technologies.

5        Second, to galvanise ground-up action, Singapore designated 2018 as the Year of Climate Action.  The campaign was a success.  Over 300,000 climate pledges were made by all stakeholders.   More than 800 climate action events were held in Singapore in 2018, many in partnership with NGOs and the private sector. 

6        Third, Singapore believes in international partnerships.  Since 1992, approximately 123,000 officials from 170 countries and territories have benefited from the capacity building programmes under the Singapore Cooperation Programme in areas such as disaster management, education, health, water, and human resource management.  To build on this, Singapore launched a Climate Action Package in July 2018 to help fellow developing countries build capacity in areas such as climate adaptation strategies, disaster risk management and green climate financing.

Mr President

7        The upcoming Climate Action Summit must launch climate solutions and forge new partnerships between all stakeholders.  It must send a strong message for all of us to push the envelope on climate efforts to stay within the global temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. In this regard, you can count on Singapore’s commitment and active involvement in the months ahead.

8        Thank you.

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