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  The Straits Times 15 Apr 06
 Singapore gears up to tackle climate change
 by Radha Basu

SINGAPORE has formally accepted the Kyoto Protocol and is now working on a national plan to tackle climate change, which scientists believe to be the biggest environmental problem threatening nations today.

The National Environment Agency is likely to lead a study to assess the long-term impact of climate change here in line with the new national plan.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty to curb pollution by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions caused by various devices, from air-conditioners and cars, to large coal-fired power plants. These emissions are widely believed to be responsible for climate change, which is causing temperatures to soar and sea levels to rise the world over.

Singapore submitted its acceptance of the protocol to the United Nations secretary-general in New York early on Thursday, Singapore time, said the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. It will come into force here in July.

The treaty requires developed countries to reduce emissions by about 5 per cent from their 1990 levels, between 2008 and 2012.

Although Singapore is not categorised as a developed country - and thus has no binding emission-reduction targets for now - it is stepping up measures to tackle climate change.

The new National Climate Change Strategy will devise ways in which Singapore can adapt to climate change, help curb emissions, spread public awareness, and help companies develop technologies to tackle the problem. The plan will be drawn up with input from various government agencies, businesses, NGOs and ordinary people, a ministry spokesman told The Straits Times.

In recent years, global warming has caused catastrophic changes in world weather patterns, sparking hurricanes, floods and droughts, and sending thermometers soaring worldwide. Barring 1998, the five hottest years ever recorded, for instance, all occurred after 2000.

The Singapore Environment Council is helping draw up a campaign to make people aware of these changes.

'We hope it will inspire ordinary people to want to do something about climate change,' said the council's executive director, Mr Howard Shaw. Details will be announced next week.

The Kyoto Protocol is also likely to spin off economic benefits for Singapore companies.

A special trading mechanism has been worked out under the protocol. Companies in developed countries which cannot reduce actual emissions can pay for the pollution by buying 'carbon credits' from counterparts in the developing world, including companies in Singapore.

Carbon credits can be earned by companies by carrying out projects to reduce carbon emissions.

Singapore-based Senoko Power is one local company eager to earn carbon credits, which it can sell to developed countries and earn millions of dollars.

'We can earn credits by converting old oil-fired plants to cleaner technology,' said the company's acting chief executive, Mr Yu Tat Ming. Upgrading a single plant, for instance, could reduce carbon emissions by 800,000 tonnes a year, which is roughly equal to emissions from all private cars here in a year.

'Based on current trading prices, we can make $13 million every year by simply selling credits earned from upgrading a single plant,' said Mr Yu.
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