Singapore and Indonesia to collaborate on tackling climate change
Singapore and Indonesia have struck a deal that will see the two countries work together on environmental initiatives, including exploring clean technologies and green finance options.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation on carbon pricing, climate change and sustainability was signed on 21 March, following the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat in January.
Ministers and an inter-agency working group involving senior government officials from both countries will meet to formulate a work plan and to advance the MoU’s objectives. Pilot projects, research collaborations, and technical exchanges are expected to form part of plan, as well as the exploration of financing solutions for carbon credit projects, carbon capture and storage, and the development of renewable energy initiatives to support regional decarbonisation.
The two countries may also share best practice and develop projects related to implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which outlines creating an international carbon market to help countries meet emissions reduction targets, according to The Straits Times.
Seeking further opportunities to collaborate
The MoU was signed by Teo Chee Hean, Singaporean senior minister and coordinating minister for national security and Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment.
“Singapore will continue to seek opportunities to collaborate with like-minded regional and international partners to create new solutions for a decarbonised and sustainable future.
“Such partnerships will enable Singapore to achieve our net-zero goal by or around mid-century, as we create and seize new green growth and job opportunities,” Teo, who also chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, said.
Luhut said at the signing that Indonesia would establish a ‘blended finance alliance’ under the G20 framework. The multilateral and international institution is to pool funds and projects related to climate change and the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
Read more: Governments doing too little on climate change, say citizens
Blended finance refers to a mix of sources of capital to support sustainable projects in developing countries.
Indonesia’s deputy minister for environment and forestry management, Nani Hendiarti, said blended finance could be used to fund the country’s mangrove rehabilitation and restoration projects, and help it achieve its goal to partially retire its coal-fired power plants and replace them with renewable energy.
Luhut invited Singapore to be part of the alliance and to be a partner in Indonesia’s food estate project, which focuses on improving yields on existing farmland and developing new agricultural land to bolster the archipelago’s food security.
Government agencies and other stakeholders, such as the private sector and academia, will be involved in the partnership between the two nations.
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About Mia Hunt
Mia is a journalist and editor with a background in covering commercial property, having been market reports and supplements editor at trade title Property Week and deputy editor of Shopping Centre magazine, now known as Retail Destination. She has also undertaken freelance work for several publications including the preview magazine of international trade show, MAPIC, and TES Global (formerly the Times Educational Supplement) and has produced a white paper on energy efficiency in business for E.ON. Between 2014 and 2016, she was a member of the Revo Customer Experience Committee and an ACE Awards judge. Mia graduated from Kingston University with a first-class degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
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