Intervention by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Session I "One Earth" at the G20 New Delhi Summit, 9 September 2023

Source: PMO

1 Thank you, Prime Minister Modi. Thank you for inviting Singapore as a guest to this G20 meeting, and congratulations on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Mission, as well as the Aditya-L1 solar probe

2 Here on earth, to combat the existential issue of climate change, countries must accelerate collective actions towards net-zero

3 Singapore, a low-lying, alternative-energy disadvantaged island-state. We therefore appreciate the inherent challenges in climate transitions

(a) However, we believe that new technologies, new financing models and new markets offer us hope

(b) All three of these require international collaboration, which the G20 can and should provide leadership for

4 First, on new technologies

(a) Hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) are critical elements to support countries’ decarbonisation pathways

(b) The viability of deploying hydrogen at scale will depend on establishing reliable and resilient global supply chains with international partners. And this, no country can do alone

(c) Singapore has developed a National Hydrogen Strategy to green our power sector, and we look forward to working with like-minded partners to diversify our power mix and realise the potential of low-carbon hydrogen in hard-to-abate sectors

5 Secondly, new financing models

(a) For the world to achieve net-zero by 2050, it will require trillions of dollars of annual investments per year

(b) Governments alone cannot do all of this

(c) We need to catalyse more private funds at scale to crowd-in and complement public capital

(i) Singapore is exploring a blended finance platform that will pull together and scale green and transition finance among the public, private and philanthropic sectors

(ii) And we are keen to partner others with interest in this initiative

6 Third, new markets Governments will also need to work together to create a conducive environment for these decarbonisation investments. And this will include providing clear definitions of green and transition activities

(a) Countries need to deepen cooperation to advance global climate action and ambition, while smoothening our climate transitions. Thus Article 6 of the Paris Agreement enables cooperation through high-integrity carbon markets to unlock additional abatement opportunities

(b) Promoting a diversity of mitigation policies is the first step in identifying effective approaches to climate change, creating new markets, and directing financing to where it’s needed most

(c) Singapore therefore supports multilateral approaches towards mitigation goals, such as the OECD’s Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches (IFCMA)

7 Thank you

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