Climate deal can help S'pore save on adaptation costs: Grace Fu

She says UAE Consensus, while not perfect, is significant and meaningful’ to the Republic

- Cheryl Tan

 

An agreement by countries at the COP28 climate summit to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions will reduce the need for heavy investments by small-island states like Singapore to adapt to the impacts of climate change, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

Speaking to reporters as the 14-day COP28 came to a close on Dec 13, Ms Fu welcomed the climate deal approved by almost 200 countries that would see the world transitioning away from fossil fuels, the first time that the issue has been addressed directly at a climate conference.

COP28 president Sultan AI Jaber hailed a "historic package" of measures that offered a "robust plan" to keep the global warming cap of 1.5 deg C above pre-industrial levels within reach.

Countries agreed in The UAE Consensus to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and triple renewable electricity capacity by 2030, among other measures, in a bid to reach net-zero by 2050.

Ms Fu noted that Singapore had estimated it would have had to spend up to $100 billion on adaptation measures over the next few decades.

She said the consensus was not perfect, but was something "significant and meaningful" to Singapore. "A good outcome is where everyone goes back a little bit unhappy but still happy to have a package (of agreements).

"Fundamentally, we want the world to decarbonise faster," she said, noting that environmental protection and climate action nonetheless had to be balanced with each country's stage of economic development and national context.