Plans to Encourage Innovative Solutions to Climate Change in Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Sciences

9 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what is being done to encourage innovative solutions to climate change in the fields of entrepreneurship, engineering and the sciences.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Climate change brings new existential threats. Singapore is already experiencing warmer temperatures, more intense rainfall and prolonged dry spells. Being an island state, we are also vulnerable to sea level rise. Just like how we have tackled other existential challenges in the past, we will plan ahead and invest in innovative solutions to reduce emissions as well as protect Singapore against the impacts of climate change.

We are making hefty investments in research and development (R&D) to develop solutions to decarbonise our grid, industries, and even our buildings. Nine hundred million dollars has been set aside for the Urban Solutions and Sustainability domain under our national Research, Innovation and Enterprise plan. We are working closely with industry and academic partners to develop as well as deploy innovative technologies and resource-efficient solutions that not only address our local challenges, but can also be applicable to other urban centres. For example, we are driving the adoption of super-low energy and zero-energy buildings and working closely with industry to implement more carbon-efficient processes.

Singapore is alternative energy-disadvantaged. Nevertheless, we are working to maximise the deployment of solar energy, our most feasible source of renewal energy. To overcome our land constraints, PUB has conducted floating solar photovoltaic (PV) cell test-bed in Tengeh Reservoir to study the performance and cost-effectiveness of 10 different PV systems. Following the study, PUB has sought proposals from companies to build a large-scale floating solar PV system in Tengeh Reservoir (of at least 50 megawatt-peak), and deploy two smaller systems in Bedok and Lower Seletar Reservoirs. We are also studying and developing technologies in other areas, including studying the potential of "clean fuels", such as hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

Mitigation and adaptation must go hand-in-hand as we are mindful that we are unable to reverse climate change completely. We have placed equally strong emphasis on the sciences in our adaptation plans because Singapore’s climate change policies must be based on robust climate science.

We established the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) in 2013 and today, CCRS is one of the few dedicated centres in the region that focuses on research in tropical weather and climate. CCRS will set up a new Programme Office next year to drive the formulation and implementation of our national climate science research masterplan and systematically build up climate science capabilities across our research institutes and universities.

To deepen our knowledge in a complex and multi-disciplinary issue like sea level rise, CCRS recently launched a call for research proposals for the National Sea Level Programme (NSLP) grant. The NSLP brings together both local and international experts to integrate and analyse various domain areas in sea level rise, and customise it to our local context.

To protect our coasts, low-lying areas and communities from sea level rise, we are exploring various coastal protection technologies and solutions, including learning from the experience of other countries. For example, we are building a small polder at Pulau Tekong to gain experience in operating one. Our agencies will also undertake R&D to enhance the cost-effectiveness of coastal protection solutions.

Even as we pursue innovative solutions, we will need to harness the collective efforts of the Government, businesses, civil society and Singaporeans to fight climate change.