Effect of Geopolitical Conflicts, High Inflation and Threat of Global Recession on Singapore Green Plan 2030
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the impact of the war in Ukraine, US-China competition, high inflation, and global recession threats on the Singapore Green Plan 2030, as raised by Mr Ang Wei Neng. Minister Grace Fu Hai Yien responded that geopolitical tensions and the global energy crisis have provided a stronger impetus for Singapore to diversify energy sources and accelerate regional renewable electricity sourcing. The Minister noted that solar capacity reached 670 megawatt-peak in early 2022 and that cleaner-energy vehicles, including hybrids and electric cars, accounted for nearly half of all new car registrations that year. While global inflation has increased the costs of capital goods for the green transition, the government is working with the industry and remains on track to meet the 2030 target of two gigawatt-peak of solar capacity. The Minister concluded that the Green Plan is a living plan that will continue to evolve through stakeholder engagement and the adoption of new technological solutions to bolster energy security.
Transcript
33 Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the war in Ukraine, intensifying competition between the United States and China, high global inflation and the threat of global recession have affected the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Over the last year, geopolitical tensions including the ongoing war in Ukraine have disrupted the supplies of essential items, including energy. This is compounded by extreme weather patterns, such as heatwaves and droughts that have disrupted the energy markets. Globally, the energy crisis has provided stronger impetus for countries to diversify their energy sources with renewables.
Likewise for Singapore, we are accelerating the deployment of solar energy and sourcing for renewable electricity from the region under the Singapore Green Plan 2030. Investments in clean technologies and enhancements to infrastructure will help us to bolster our energy security and mitigate the impact of climate change.
We remain committed to implementing the Green Plan initiatives and are currently making good progress. For instance, we have increased the installed solar capacity from 125 megawatt-peak in 2016 to 670 megawatt-peak in Q1 2022. We are on track to meet our 2030 targets of two gigawatt-peak of installed solar capacity. Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is also growing robustly, with electric car registrations for the first nine months of 2022 exceeding 10% of all new car registrations. Almost half of our new car registrations in 2022 so far are cleaner-energy vehicles, which include hybrids.
Global inflation has cause prices of capital goods to rise, including those needed for green transition. We will monitor its impact and work with the industry closely to find solutions.
The Green Plan is a living plan and will continue to evolve, as we engage a diverse range of stakeholders and take into account technological developments and new solutions.