Article: “Singapore’s clean energy dilemma is a warning for small nations “
Singapore’s agenda to convert to renewable sources of energy simply doesn’t work for the country, due to a lack of space and resources. Other small nations, such as Hong Kong, Monaco, and Bahrain are facing the same dilemma. Because Singapore can’t generate clean energy from its own resources, the state must rely on nearby Southeast Asian countries to be willing to export this power. Unfortunately, not all neighboring countries will be able to export energy sources for Singapore. Malaysia, for example, has banned international sales of renewable electricity in an effort to decarbonize internally.
As green energy becomes a target for nations around the world, Singapore worries that falling behind will leave them at a disadvantage in development. Larger nations, such as South Korea and Japan have run into their own challenges in converting to renewable energy. South Korea’s crowded population has forced wind projects offshore. In Japan, the limited space is leading the nation to review possible nuclear power plants. Singapore has also been considering a nuclear power plan as a low-carbon alternative. Even with the aid of imported energy, Singapore still wouldn’t be able to effectively decarbonize, and therefore would have to use nuclear energy in replacement of natural gasses.
Singapore already receives the vast majority of its energy from imported gas, and with the limited available amount of green-energy exports, it will be difficult for the country to fully convert in a similar timeline as other countries. As of August 2021, coal and renewable energy resources only accounted for 1% of Singapore’s energy sources. (EIA). To help combat this issue, the state may decide to introduce other ways of reducing carbon emissions, such as raising the carbon tax.
Green energy clearly comes at a cost. As Singapore continues to work on improving its renewable energy resources, electricity costs will most likely increase, due to the cost of exports, as well as the high demand and low supply of low-carbon energy at the moment. On the bright side, renewable energy may pose many benefits to Singapore. In the long run, maintenance and operating costs for green energy are much lower than fossil fuel energy. In addition to the economic benefits, there are obvious environmental benefits. Singapore will be able to slowly decrease its carbon emissions, reducing damage to the environment. With fewer fossil fuels being burnt, food and water will also be much cleaner. The state has ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, although, its ability to keep in line with the agreement has slipped to access to carbon-reduced energy.
In connection to the class, climate change has been an increasingly popular collective goods problem. Nations have struggled on whether to sacrifice economic benefits in exchange for environmental protection. Now that climate change has become a pressing issue, treaties such as the Paris Climate Agreement have pushed countries to work on improving their own carbon footprints. This has led to high demand for clean, renewable energy, and consequently, Singapore has found itself empty-handed and in need of resources. This treaty, however, only has the power to encourage states to follow environmental protection guidelines and contains no legal enforcement. Therefore, Singapore has no obligation to keep in line with other countries in efforts to decrease carbon emissions.