Singapore has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to between 45 million and 50 million tonnes (Mt) by 2035, marking a significant step towards its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The commitment aims to lower emissions from an estimated 60Mt in 2030 through a planned, linear decline.
The revised climate targets were formally submitted to the United Nations on the same day, aligning with the deadline for countries to update their 2035 commitments under the Paris Agreement. Singapore is among more than ten nations, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates, that have already submitted their new climate pledges.
In 2022, Singapore recorded total emissions of 58.59Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq), a measure used to calculate the overall impact of different greenhouse gases. The city-state contributes approximately 0.1 per cent of global emissions.
“The lower limit of 45Mt CO2 eq ensures that we remain on a steady path to net-zero by 2050, consistent with international expectations,” the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) stated on 10 February.
It also noted that Singapore’s ability to decarbonise will depend on advances in emerging low-carbon technologies and international cooperation, given its status as an energy-constrained island nation.
Climate change is driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions, largely from human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. Singapore’s updated targets reflect the outcomes of the first global stocktake—a United Nations review process that concluded in 2023—which encourages nations to accelerate their use of renewable energy sources.
Despite its reliance on natural gas for around 95 per cent of its electricity needs, Singapore is expanding its renewable energy capacity. Solar energy, the most viable renewable source in the country, currently supplies about 2 per cent of electricity demand, with projections suggesting it could account for 10 per cent by 2050.
In its 31-page submission to the UN, Singapore outlined plans to maximise solar energy use by installing panels on reservoirs and exploring options for deployment on walkways, car parks, and building facades. However, it acknowledged the challenge of achieving its 2035 target due to limited natural resources and alternative energy options.
Singapore’s government emphasised that stricter regulations, carbon pricing, and market policies would be necessary to drive decarbonisation across all economic sectors. Increased investment in emerging technologies such as hydrogen energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) will also play a key role in reducing emissions.
Given its resource constraints, Singapore plans to work with other countries to meet its climate goals. Collaborative efforts include importing low-carbon electricity from neighbouring nations, exploring cross-border CCS projects, and acquiring international carbon credits to offset emissions.
Carbon credits allow Singapore to compensate for domestic emissions by investing in carbon reduction projects overseas, a mechanism permitted under the Paris Agreement.
Under the accord, nations are required to submit progressively ambitious climate targets every five years. These pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), outline the actions each country will take to support the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels—a threshold scientists warn is increasingly at risk of being exceeded.
In 2024, global temperatures averaged 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, marking the first time an entire year surpassed the critical 1.5°C limit.
Singapore’s first climate targets were set following the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 and have since been revised twice, in 2020 and 2022. Initially, the country pledged to improve its carbon efficiency by reducing emissions intensity—measured as greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP—by 36 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.
In 2020, it committed to capping emissions at 65Mt CO2 eq by around 2030, with a long-term goal of reaching net-zero by 2050. At the 2021 UN climate summit in Glasgow, countries were urged to enhance their 2030 targets by the end of 2022. Singapore subsequently accelerated its plans, pledging to peak emissions at approximately 60Mt in 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050.
In late 2024, a separate climate report revealed that Singapore aims to peak emissions at 64.43Mt in 2028 before commencing a downward trend. Key measures to achieve its 2030 target include enhancing industrial energy efficiency, deploying CCS technology, and increasing reliance on clean energy imports.
Melissa Low, a climate policy expert and research fellow at the NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, remarked on 10 February: “This marks the first time Singapore has set a definitive downward emissions trajectory in its climate targets, beyond just planning to peak emissions in 2028. However, the role of low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture in achieving this decline remains uncertain.”
Low highlighted that Singapore’s alignment with the first global stocktake underscores its proactive approach to international climate negotiations.
“These targets clearly demonstrate how Singapore is incorporating the stocktake’s findings into its national strategy,” she said, adding that the process has proven effective in driving countries to enhance their climate ambitions.
Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, is expected to provide further details on Singapore’s climate strategy and 2035 targets in the upcoming 2025 parliamentary budget debate.
