Singapore to Phase Out Unabated Coal Power by 2050

JOINT PRESS RELEASE BY NCCS, MSE AND MTI: SINGAPORE TO PHASE OUT UNABATED COAL POWER BY 2050

Singapore has joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) at the 26^th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, one of 28 new members and one of the first countries in Asia to do so. Singapore has also signed the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition statement initiated by the UK COP26 Presidency.

Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA)

Singapore’s membership of the PPCA, reflects its efforts to progressively phase out the use of unabated coal. 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. Since independence, Singapore’s reliance on coal has been marginal, and makes up less than 2 per cent of its power generation capacity today.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced Singapore’s membership to the PPCA at the COP26 Energy Day Presidency Event on 4 November 2021. She said, “The burning of coal is putting billions of people at immediate risk. This is why Singapore has decided to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance, one of the first countries in Asia to do so. Singapore is fully committed to accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future. We will transform our industry, economy, and society to be more energy and carbon efficient, and to adopt more low-carbon energy in support of the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

As part of our energy transition and other initiatives under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore aims to use low-carbon energy sources across our economy. To further decarbonise the power sector, Singapore will harness and tap on these four switches to transform our energy supply - natural gas, solar, regional power grids, and emerging low-carbon alternatives.

Global Coal to Clean Power Transition

In addition to its membership in the PPCA, Singapore has 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 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.

Although Singapore is a small city-state with limited options to deploy renewable energy at scale, our commitment to phase out coal complements our plans to transition to a low-carbon future, set out under the Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS).

Effective international cooperation is needed to tackle climate change, a complex global challenge, and every country must do its part. Singapore seeks to work with international and regional partners to enable effective collaborations, strengthen consensus and in turn, galvanise collective global climate action.