Opening Remarks by Singapore's Ambassador for Climate Action at COP30 Singapore Pavilion

OPENING REMARKS BY SINGAPORE’S AMBASSADOR FOR CLIMATE ACTION LAUNCH OF COP30 SINGAPORE PAVILION, BELÉM, BRAZIL, 10 NOVEMBER 2025

Good morning and welcome to the launch of the Singapore Pavilion at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

This has not been an easy year for climate action.

• Governments and businesses the world over are grappling with competing priorities – from trade disruptions to geopolitical tensions to energy security concerns - with climate taking a back seat.

But time and tide wait for no man.  Nature’s clock is ticking away. 

• Global temperatures are continuing to increase, sea levels are rising faster than in the last 3000 years, the polar ice caps are melting faster than expected, and glaciers are retreating at record pace. 

• Climate change is already happening, disrupting lives and livelihoods. 

• It will only get much worse.

The climate crisis that we ignore today will be the defining crisis of tomorrow. 

• Governments and businesses will be forced to act, to decarbonise. 

• But it will be a disorderly transition towards a carbon-constrained and climate-impaired world.

Singapore is staying the course on climate action.

• We want to reduce our emissions as part of global efforts. Although Singapore accounts for 0.1% of global emissions, every country must do its part and so will we.

• But it goes beyond that.  By reducing our emissions, we are also preparing our economy to thrive in a carbon-constrained future. 

• And more importantly, as a global trade and financial hub, we want to catalyse climate action beyond Singapore, to work with others to facilitate global decarbonisation and support climate adaptation.

In short, climate action is the necessary thing to do, the smart thing to do, and the right thing to do.

The Singapore Pavilion will feature how we are supporting global climate action, by catalysing climate finance and strengthening climate resilience.

CATALYSING CLIMATE FINANCE

Let me start with catalysing climate finance.   The world is about US$1.5 trillion short of the financing required each year to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Why is climate finance not flowing at the pace and scale needed?

• one, the cost of capital is too high;

• two, the carbon price is too low.

There are two key levers to unlock the financing necessary for global decarbonisation:

• blended finance to address the cost of capital; and

• carbon credits to address the lack of a carbon price.

Singapore has been focusing its efforts in these two areas.

Blended Finance

Let me start with blended finance: using catalytic capital to absorb first loss and thereby crowd in multiples of private commercial capital.

Singapore has put in place a blended finance platform called Financing Asia’ Transition Partnership, or FAST-P, with a target fund size of US$5 billion.

• The Singapore Government pledged a grant of up to US$500 million, to be matched by other sources of concessional capital.

• The aim is to use this US$1 billion of concessional capital to catalyse another US$4 billion of commercial capital.

• We set up three funds under FAST-P:

  • the Energy Transition Acceleration Finance partnership, or ETAF, focused on replacing fossil fuel based energy with renewables;

  • the Green Investment Partnership, or GIP, focused on renewable energy, electric mobility, and waste and water management; and

  • the Industrial Transformation Infrastructure Programme, or ITP, focused on decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors.

• We appointed a reputable asset manager for each fund:

  • Clifford Capital for ETAF;

  • Pentagreen for GIP; and

  • BlackRock for ITP.

Let me provide the latest updates on FAST-P’s progress.

ETAF will now be structured into two investment sleeves: phasing out coal-fired power plants; and replacing existing or planned carbon-based energy sources with renewable energy.

• Clifford Capital has been in active conversation with several regional banks and international capital providers to support the two sleeves of ETAF.

GIP, which had its first close of US$510 million, has now committed US$110 million to three sustainable infrastructure investments in South and Southeast Asia.

• The three investments, covering several projects, are expected to collectively reduce one million tonnes of emissions annually.

ITP is broadening its coalition of catalytic capital providers and commercial investors with partners such as Great Eastern also expressing intent to join the programme.

• ITP will focus on providing debt financing to private-sector borrowers seeking to decarbonise their businesses, including technology solutions for decarbonisation (like carbon removals) and projects in hard-to-abate sectors (like cement and steel).

The fund managers will provide further details at the panel discussion organised by the FAST-P Office at 2 pm today.

Carbon Markets

Next, carbon markets. Carbon markets help channel financing to decarbonisation that would otherwise not happen.

• They provide a viable pathway for companies and countries to meet their emissions targets after they have exhausted their abatement potential.

• But the carbon markets suffer from a trust deficit - driven by a lack of clear and consistent guidance, concerns about the integrity of credits, and a fragmented market infrastructure.

Singapore is taking a comprehensive approach – through domestic policies and international collaboration – to address  these challenges and scale carbon markets.

First, Singapore issued guidance last month on how our companies can integrate carbon credits into their decarbonisation plans.  It sets out for the first time clear guidelines on:

• best practices for a credible decarbonisation plan;

• using credits only after prioritising all feasible mitigation potential;

• identifying high-quality carbon credits;

• recommended disclosures on carbon credit use, including key identifying information such as project type and carbon registry.

• the role of corresponding adjustments and vintage; and

• managing the risks of carbon credit projects under-delivering.

Second, the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, which Singapore co-chairs with Kenya and the United Kingdom, issued last week a set of shared principles on the corporate use of carbon credits.

• This is the first government-backed international framework that provide cross-jurisdictional guidance for credible corporate use of carbon credits.

I am pleased to announce that 10 national governments have endorsed the shared principles, and that a few more countries have agreed to join the Coalition.

• We will have a panel at 4 pm today to announce these countries and discuss how we can use the shared principles to enhance corporate participation in the voluntary carbon market.

Third, Singapore is sending strong demand signals with our own procurement of carbon credits to meet our 2030 NDC targets.

• We have contracted to purchase 2.175 million tonnes of Article 6 compliant, nature-based carbon credits, sourced from four carefully chosen projects in Ghana, Peru and Paraguay, valued at around S$76 million.

• This Saturday, on 15 November at 9.30am, we will feature these project developers as well as investors and buyers, to share how high-integrity nature-based credits can be better designed, financed and scaled.

I am pleased to announce that we have now launched a new request for proposal for Article 6 compliant credits from both technology-based and nature-based projects.

• We look forward to receiving new proposals and furthering cooperation with the 10 countries with which we have signed Implementation  Agreements.

• To enhance the environmental integrity of carbon credits that Singapore purchases, we have recently appointed three carbon rating service providers – BeZero Carbon, Calyx Global and Sylvera – to provide independent assessments of carbon credits methodologies and projects.

Fourth, Singapore is facilitating international consensus on high-quality carbon credits to accelerate Asia’s coal to clean transition.

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) convened two years ago an international coalition, called TRACTION, to study how energy transition credits can be used as a financing mechanism to enable the managed phaseout of Asia’s large and young fleet of coal plants.

• These are high-integrity credits generated from the emissions reduced through the early closure of coal plants. The design of these credits takes an inclusive approach that prioritises energy reliability, accessibility, and affordability.

• I am happy to report progress on two fronts.

TRACTION will release  today key findings from its final report, providing actionable insights for scaling the application of energy transition credits.

• One, about one-third of coal plant capacity across 15 Asian markets could be eligible to generate high-integrity credits, potentially reducing emissions by up to 1 gigatonne annually – that’s one billion tonnes each year.

• Two, clear demand signals from credible off-takers, robust risk-mitigation solutions and alternative coal transition approaches can improve bankability.

• Three, revenues from carbon credits should go beyond short-term compensation, and help to build lasting community resilience through re-employment, upskilling and business support programmes.

More details will be shared at the TRACTION report launch and presentation on Wednesday, 12 November at 10am.

MAS will release a statement of support from 21 public and private sector players for energy transition credits.

• They include financiers, corporates, and sovereigns - including the governments of Singapore and the Philippines.

• They have come together to express early support for the development of energy transition credits, including the potential offtake of these credits.

The signatories will also be present at the TRACTION programme on  Wednesday, 12 November.

STRENGTHENING CLIMATE RESILIENCE

Staying the course on climate action means not just catalysing finance for decarbonisation but also preparing well for what lies ahead: a climate-impaired world.

Let me highlight three areas where Singapore is focusing its climate resilience efforts.

First, we are rethinking coastal protection as an opportunity, not just a necessity.

• The Long Island project exemplifies this — it is a plan to build an 800-hectare island off the East Coast which can deliver benefits beyond  protecting against rising sea levels.

• It includes a new water reservoir to strengthen water security, additional green and blue spaces for waterfront living, and new recreational opportunities with around 20 km of new waterfront parks.

• By twinning adaptation with socio-economic benefits, we can turn vulnerabilities into opportunities, realising the full value of investments in adaptation.

Second, we are ramping up our heat resilience.

• Under the worst-case scenario, by the end of this century, Singapore is projected to experience daily maximum temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius for more than 95% of the days each year, according to the Third National Climate Change Study (V3) by the Meteorological Service Singapore.

• Extreme heat events will have implications for public health, labour productivity, and business operations.

Singapore has developed national heatwave response plans for both the general public and sector-specific populations. Measures include:

• opening up community cooling centres for the public to seek heat respite;

• mandatory hourly rest breaks for outdoor workers engaging in heavy physical labour during high heat periods; and

• implementing dress-down attire in schools and pre-schools.

Singapore is also taking a regional perspective to enhance our collective capacity for a heat resilient Southeast Asia.

• The Global Heat Health Information Southeast Asia Hub at the National University of Singapore seeks to advance evidence-based policies for managing extreme heat risks in the region.

Third, we are strengthening our food supply resilience and exploring regional collaboration.

• Climate change poses a serious threat to global food security. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and volatile precipitation patterns are already impacting crop yields significantly.

• Singapore is particularly vulnerable to such disruptions as we import more than 90% of our food. 

Singapore is building an agri-food industry capable of growing food in a more productive and climate-resilient manner.

• The Government recently awarded $22 million for a programme to develop higher quality seeds with enhanced traits such as improved growth, yield and nutritional value, specifically tailored for tropical climates.   

Singapore has initiated a study on the potential impacts of climate change on agricultural production in ASEAN and the measures that could be taken to mitigate these impacts.

• A concrete example of this regional approach is an initiative by Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory called “Decarbonising Rice”.

• This project has shown early results from trials in Singapore and Tamil Nadu that climate-resilient rice varieties, improved water management, and enhanced soil microbiomes can reduce methane emissions and improve crop yields.

• The project is now scaling up trials across Laos, India and Indonesia, demonstrating the potential for collaboration to enhance food security for our region.

Next week, on 18 and 19 November, we will have a series of programmes to highlight Singapore’s adaptation and resilience efforts and opportunities for regional collaborations.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, the Singapore Pavilion exemplifies the spirit of collaboration and collective action that are absolutely critical to the climate crisis.  Whether through blended finance, carbon markets, or adaptation, it is only by working together – across public and private sectors, and across countries – will we stand a chance to secure a sustainable planet.

Thank you.