Singapore will announce a revised carbon tax rate for 2024 in its budget next year. Singapore was the first Southeast Asian nation: Ayven Zuo Report, RMIT, Singapore

Singapore will announce a revised carbon tax rate for 2024 in its budget next year. Singapore was the first Southeast Asian nation to introduce a carbon levy in 2019, but the current rate of S$5 per tonne of carbon dioxide is far lower than most jurisdictions.

For perspective, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that 120 euros per tonne are the tax required to decarbonize by mid-century.

Development as a carbon trading hub: Singapore has proclaimed aspirations to become a carbon trading hub for Asia, but whether the trading of carbon offsets correlates with real emission reductions is worth watching.

“Singapore can play a critical role in setting market rules for verification and accountability, and these will go a long way in ensuring that these offsets are environmentally meaningful,” said law professor Jolene Lin, who is also director of the AsiaPacific Centre for Environmental Law.

A study commissioned by the Economic Development Board projects up to US$5.6 billion in gross value-add to the nation’s economy by 2050 from providing carbon services. Climate Impact X, a Singapore-based global carbon exchange funded by DBS, Temasek, Standard Chartered, and the Singapore Exchange, will also be officially launched early next year.

Imports of low-carbon electricity: The Energy Market Authority in November launched its first request for proposal for the supply of low-carbon electricity imports into Singapore from 2027. A second invitation will go out in the second quarter of 2022. Together, Singapore aims to import up to 4 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity by 2025.