Young Singaporeans offer suggestions to strengthen action ahead of COP27 climate summit

SINGAPORE – Young people in Singapore are calling for a higher carbon tax, more transparency on the Republic’s net-zero pathway, and for natural habitats to be better conserved.

These are among 26 recommendations in a policy paper that was released on Tuesday to advance environmental action in Singapore.

The Green SG Policy Paper builds on the public statement in 2021 – An Urgent Call from Singaporean Youths on the Environmental Crisis – which offered 18 policy recommendations for environmental action. 

“This year, we decided to build on that work and expand the list of recommendations, taking into account progress that various stakeholders – including the Singapore Government – have made in the past year,” said the authors. 

Close to 50 young people contributed to the paper, of whom 26 were named, including climate activist and artist Dorcas Tang, and members of Singapore Youth for Climate Action Rishika Selvan, Swati Mandloi and Terese Teoh.

The other contributors chose to remain anonymous.

The authors hope to present their recommendations to key decision-makers in the Singapore Government at the COP27 Conference in Egypt, which is set to begin on Sunday. 

The paper covers six themes: emissions and carbon, energy, corporate responsibility and financed emissions, nature and biodiversity, community empowerment and inclusivity, as well as economy and people.

One key recommendation is for Singapore to have a higher carbon tax, as the authors noted that the Republic’s current carbon pricing falls short of scientific recommendations, especially for a high-income country.

“While we understand the risk of economic leakage if the carbon tax is set too high, we want to propose a figure that is more in line with international recommendations,” the authors of the paper said. 

The International Monetary Fund suggests a US$75 (S$106) per tonne price floor for high-income economies, while the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute suggests a carbon tax tag of US$145 per tonne. 

Singapore’s proposed range is between $50 to $80 by 2030.

The paper said that more transparency will also be needed on how Singapore will see the end of its net-zero pathway by 2050, as well as how the Republic aims to use international carbon credits to offset its emissions.

“We urge the Government to make transparent the trajectory of the (net-zero) transition, the categories of the measures that will be required, and the approximate magnitude of emissions that we can avoid from each measure,” said the authors.