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S’pore to act on climate change even without accord: DPM

SINGAPORE — Ahead of the coming 21st annual Conference of Parties (COP) climate summit taking place in Paris next month, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said that even if no consensus is reached, there are many measures and practices that “make sense for us to do anyway”, such as using more energy-efficient appliances.

SINGAPORE — Ahead of the coming 21st annual Conference of Parties (COP) climate summit taking place in Paris next month, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said that even if no consensus is reached, there are many measures and practices that “make sense for us to do anyway”, such as using more energy-efficient appliances.

Mr Teo, who is chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, spoke about Singapore’s participation in the meeting on the sidelines of the annual National Climate Change Competition (NCCC) award ceremony yesterday.

“We are looking for a universal agreement, that’s important. So for every country that’s in, we want to have an agreement that is legally binding so that there will be obligations from all countries,” he said. “And we also want an agreement that is durable, that will stand the test of time, and because this is a long-term agreement, we will be looking at climate-friendly actions to be taken by all countries (that will) go out till 2100, that kind of time frame.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli will be leading the delegation to Paris for the climate-change talks, where nations will seek to reach a legally binding and universal agreement on how to cut fossil-fuel use.

Countries will have to put forward a detailed domestic policy plan to limit its emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, which would form the basis of the accord to be signed next month and enacted by 2020.

If an agreement is not reached, Singapore will review its position, said Mr Teo. “There are many things which make sense for us to do anyway, to use more energy-efficient appliances, to save energy usage ... but other measures need to be done in tandem with other countries, so we will have to look at what climate change agreement actually comes up with.”

He also noted that Singapore is already one of the most efficient countries in terms of emissions intensity, and reiterated that the aim is for a 36 per cent reduction in emission intensity from 2005 levels as well as for carbon emissions to peak by 2030.

He added: “Our negotiators have been playing a facilitative role in helping to arrive at a good global climate change agreement throughout the negotiation progress over the last few years … and to try and help bridge the differences between these countries. So, we hope that (with) these efforts, along with the efforts of the other countries, (it) will enable us to arrive at a good climate change agreement.”

Yesterday, a total of 24 awards were given to winners of the NCCC competition, which was organised by the National Climate Change Secretariat. The winning videos will be adapted for use by the secretariat in its public education and outreach efforts.

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