Speech by Singapore's Ambassador for Climate Action at From Paris to Belém

22 OCT 2025

SPEECH BY SINGAPORE’S AMBASSADOR FOR CLIMATE ACTION AT FROM PARIS TO BELÉM: FROM NEGOTIATIONS TO IMPLEMENTATION, EARTH OBSERVATORY OF SINGAPORE, 22 OCTOBER 2025

His Excellency Mazza de Andrade, Ambassador of Brazil to Singapore,
His Excellency Stephen Marchisio, Ambassador of France to Singapore,
Distinguished guests, friends, and partners

THE WORLD SINCE THE PARIS AGREEMENT

Today, we mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a truly landmark event.

  • At COP21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, for the first time, the world agreed that climate action was no longer optional, but essential.

  • 196 countries adopted an agreement which was universal, comprehensive, and legally-binding.

  • The agreement set a clear goal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and committed countries to communicate every five years Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) towards that goal.

In the decade since, the global climate agenda has seen good progress.

  • At COP24 in 2018, an implementation rulebook was finalised, turning the Paris Agreement’s broad commitments into actionable, transparent, and internationally comparable measures.

  • At COP26 in 2021, implementation rules for carbon markets were finalised and agreement was reached to accelerate efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and to phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

  • At COP29 in 2024, a target was set to raise at least US$300 billion annually in climate finance for developing countries by 2035.

Singapore is honoured to have helped, in our own small way, to build on the Paris Agreement.

  • At COP21, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan co-facilitated with his Brazilian counterparts discussions on the issue of “differentiation”, one of the key contentious issues.

  • At COP24, Minister Masagos Zulkifli co-facilitated with his Norwegian counterpart the consultations on mitigation and NDC guidance, which was a key component of the Paris Agreement “implementation rulebook”.

  • At COP26, COP27, and COP29, Minister Grace Fu co-facilitated consultations on Article 6, which led to the finalisation of the implementation guidelines for carbon market cooperation under the Paris Agreement.

But what has the Paris Agreement achieved in tangible outcomes?

First, the Paris Agreement has helped to bend the curve of global emissions and global warming - but not by enough.

  • Before Paris, global emissions were rising rapidly, at around 1.7% annually between 2005 and 2014. Post-Paris, average annual emissions growth fell to 0.3% per year from 2015 to 2024.1

  • Before Paris, the world was heading towards warming of 4 degrees Celsius by 2100 relative to pre-industrial levels. After Paris, assuming current policy trajectories, projected warming is down to about 2.8 degrees Celsius by 2100.

  • That’s the good news. The bad news is that global emissions are still rising, and warming to 2.8 degrees Celsius means the world is still likely to face catastrophic climate change.

Second, carbon pricing schemes have expanded and carbon prices are higher - though still below where they need to be.

  • In 2015, carbon pricing mechanisms in 40 jurisdictions covered 12% of global emissions.2

  • Today, there are either carbon taxes or emissions trading schemes in 80 jurisdictions, covering 28% of global emissions.3

  • However, today’s average carbon price of around US$19 per tonne is well below the US$75 per tonne of CO2 that the International Monetary Fund has assessed to be necessary to meet the world’s climate goals.4 5

Third, climate finance flows have increased substantially - but they remain below the levels needed to meet net-zero by 2050.

  • According to the UNFCCC, reported flows of climate finance have increased by 63% since 2020.

  • But this is still far below the US$6 trillion needed annually by 2030 to implement developing countries’ climate action plans, as estimated by the UNFCCC.6

Fourth, the adoption of renewable energy and green technology has accelerated – though fossil fuels still supply most of the world’s energy.

  • Renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil fuel energy in many parts of the world.

    • Global investment in clean energy last year was nearly double the amount for fossil fuels.

    • Electric vehicles are estimated to account for 20% of total car sales in 2024, compared to less than 1% in 2015.7

  • But fossil fuels still account for 60% of the world’s electricity generation.8

  • And green technologies needed for hard-to-abate sectors, like low-carbon hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, and carbon capture and storage still require significant cost reductions before they can be widely adopted.

In sum, the Paris Agreement has achieved much – but there is still much more to do.

  • The Paris Agreement is testament to what can be achieved when countries unite behind a common purpose, to address a common challenge.

  • But there is no room for complacency – on almost every score, the world is not on track to achieve the goals of the Agreement.

  • And to make matters worse, the climate goal post has also shifted.

And this is perhaps the most significant development since the Paris Agreement - climate change is happening at an accelerated pace – faster than earlier expected.

Global temperatures have been rising faster than earlier climate models have predicted.

  • 2024 was the hottest year on record.

  • It is now increasingly apparent that the world will not be able to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Climate scientists have been surprised by the rate at which the world is approaching planetary boundaries – critical biophysical processes that keep Earth liveable.

  • Global mean sea level is now 10 cm higher than in 1990 – the fastest rate of increase in the last 3000 years.

  • The polar ice caps are melting faster than expected.

  • Glaciers worldwide – especially in the critical Himalayas and Tibetan plateau which feed many of the rivers in South and Southeast Asia – are retreating at record pace.

  • The oceans are becoming warmer and acidified. Most tropical coral reefs are expected to be bleached beyond recovery.

The climate’s toll on lives and livelihoods is becoming more apparent.

  • Heat-related illnesses and deaths are already increasing globally. The World Health Organisation calls climate change one of the World’s biggest health threats.9

  • Globally, it is estimated that damage due to climate change will cost an annual US$38 trillion by 2050.10

The task before us is clear – we must step up the pace of emissions reductions while at the same time prepare for a climate-impaired world.

  • Yet, the climate agenda has fallen in priority in many parts of the world, amid rising economic uncertainty, trade frictions, and geopolitical conflicts.

    • People are more concerned about cost of living and job security.

    • Governments are recalibrating their climate commitments.

  • There are several bright spots though;

    • The United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Switzerland have substantially increased their level of ambition in their 2035 NDC submissions.

    • China is rapidly emerging as a leader in climate action, installing two times more renewable energy capacity than the rest of the world put together. The green economy accounted for one-quarter of China’s GDP growth last year.

SINGAPORE’S CLIMATE AGENDA

Singapore remains fully committed to climate action.

  • We were one of 13 countries who submitted our 2035 NDC by the February 2025 deadline.

  • Our 2035 NDC pledged to reduce our emissions to between 45 to 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035.

  • The 45 million tonnes target puts us on a linear trajectory to net zero in 2050.

Beyond our own transition to net-zero, Singapore will act as a catalyst for global climate action.

  • In particular, as a major business and financial hub, Singapore is well-placed to help narrow the climate financing gap.

  • Singapore has been playing a leading role in two key enablers for mobilising private capital:

    • blended finance - using public and philanthropic capital to catalyse private commercial capital; and

    • carbon markets – facilitating the purchase of high-quality carbon credits from decarbonisation activities.

Singapore has launched a blended finance platform called FAST-P to support Asia’s transition, with a government grant of up to US$500 million on a matching basis.

  • This means that if FAST-P can attract an equal amount of catalytic funds from other sources, it will have a pool of capital of up to US$1 billion capable of absorbing first-loss risk on transition projects in Asia.

  • The aim is to crowd in up to US$4 billion of commercial capital on this layer of catalytic capital, making a total balance sheet size of US$5 billion.

  • Last month, FAST-P marked a major milestone with the Green Investments Partnership, or GIP, achieving its first close with US$510 million. GIP’s pipeline of projects includes renewable energy and storage, electric vehicles, and water and waste management.

Singapore has been playing a leading role in promoting well-functioning high-integrity carbon markets globally.

First, Singapore has been signalling demand for high-quality carbon credits aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

  • We have signed agreements with 10 countries to-date on carbon credit cooperation.

  • We have contracted 2.175 million tonnes of Article 6-compliant nature-based carbon credits across four projects in Ghana, Paraguay, and Peru.

  • These projects aim to reduce deforestation and reforest degraded areas while safeguarding biodiversity.

Second, Singapore has been promoting the supply of high-integrity carbon credits.

  • We are piloting the use of energy transition credits as a credible financing instrument for the managed phase-out of coal in Asia. A final report will be issued at COP30.

Third, Singapore, together with Kenya and the United Kingdom, has launched an international Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets.

  • The Coalition comprises ambitious governments committed to advancing climate action through credible business use of high-integrity carbon credits alongside deep corporate decarbonisation.

  • The Coalition will issue at COP30 a clear set of shared principles on the voluntary use of high-integrity carbon credits by businesses to provide consistency in approach across jurisdictions.

SINGAPORE’S COP30 PRIORITIES

Beyond our initiatives in climate finance, Singapore looks forward to working with partners at COP30 under Brazil’s leadership to achieve progress in several areas.

First, the submission of the 2035 NDCs.

  • Countries were due to submit their 2035 NDCs no later than 10 February 2025. However, as of today, only 62 out of 196 countries have done so.

  • It is imperative that countries submit credible 2035 NDCs and do so expeditiously, to send a clear signal that the global community remains committed to the climate agenda.

Second, climate finance for developing countries.

  • We look forward to progress on the development of the “Baku to Belem Roadmap” to achieve the goal of US$1.3 trillion in financing to support developing countries’ climate actions.

  • This target cannot be met by public finances alone. We hope to see progress in public-private-philanthropic partnerships and innovative blended finance models.

Third, climate adaptation actions.

  • COP30 must finalise the framework of adaptation indicators, which will help us to track progress on adaptation action and support to developing countries.

  • We also look forward to progress in the early disbursement of funds under the Loss and Damage Fund.

Fourth, low carbon technology solutions.

  • The IPCC has highlighted the importance of low carbon technology solutions like hydrogen and carbon dioxide removal as key tools for the global transition to net zero.

  • We hope that COP30 will help to strengthen international cooperation to address supply-chain and regulatory barriers so as to enable the deployment of these solutions at scale.

Let me conclude.

As we get ready for COP30, we cannot disregard the prevailing political headwinds and economic uncertainties. But nor can we ignore the timeline that nature has set us – and that timeline is dangerously shortening.

Let us take courage from how far we have come since COP21. And as we approach COP30, let us draw urgency from how much further we must go. Let us honour the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement in the best way possible — by delivering on its goals.

1 Emissions Growth Slows 5-Fold Since Paris Deal as Clean Energy Becomes ‘Unstoppable’

2 State and trends of Carbon Pricing 2015

3 State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025

4 State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025

5 Fiscal Policies to Curb Climate Change

6 https://unfccc.int/news/from-billions-to-trillions-setting-a-new-goal-on-climate-finance

7 2015: the year electric vehicles went mainstream - News - IEA

8 Electricity – Global Energy Review 2025 – Analysis - IEA                                                                                                                                       

9 We must fight one of the world’s biggest health threats - climate change

10 38 trillion dollars in damages each year: World economy already committed to income reduction of 19 % due to climate change — Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research