Singapore commits to phasing out unabated coal power by 2050

29 November 2021

On 4 November 2021, the National Climate Change Secretariat, Ministry of Trade and Industry (“MTI”) and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment issued a statement announcing that Singapore has joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance (“PPCA”) at the 26th Conference of Parties (“COP26”) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow. Singapore is one of the PPCA’s 28 new members and also one of the first countries in Asia to join the alliance. Singapore has also signed the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement.

PPCA Declaration

Under the PPCA Declaration, Singapore has committed to continue phasing out the use of unabated coal in its electricity mix by 2050, and to restrict direct Government finance of unabated coal power internationally.

As part of the energy transition and other initiatives under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore aims to use low-carbon energy sources across the economy. According to the statement, Singapore will transform its energy supply by harnessing and tapping on natural gas, solar, regional power grids and emerging low-carbon alternatives, in order to further decarbonise the power sector.

The statement notes that Singapore’s reliance on coal has been marginal, and makes up less than 2% of its power generation capacity.

Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement

Singapore has also signed the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement. This is a commitment to international efforts and collaboration to shift away from unabated coal power generation in the 2040s (or as soon as possible thereafter), cease the issuances of new permits, and end direct Government support for new unabated coal-fired power generation projects worldwide. The Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement was initiated by the UK COP26 Presidency as a declaration to accelerate international momentum for global energy transition.

Reference materials

The press release is available from the MTI website www.mti.gov.sg.