The Singaporean Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) has started to carry out a public consultation on the draft Carbon Pricing Bill, in the wake of the March 2017 consultation conducted by the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) on the introduction of a carbon tax in the country. The consultation period will last six weeks, from 31 October 2017 to 8 December 2017.
The Carbon Pricing Bill is expected to set out the overall carbon tax framework along with the obligations for large greenhouse gases (GHG) emitters, including the measurement, reporting and verification requirements. The amount is not specified but the tax could impact around 30 companies in the power generation, petroleum refining and chemical businesses. Companies emitting more than 2 kt CO2eq/year will have to report their emissions, while those emitting 25 kt CO2/year or more will have to pay the tax. The carbon tax will be based on a fixed-price credits-based (FPCB) mechanism, with companies having to purchase emission credits issued by NEA at a fixed price.
Singapore plans to implement a carbon tax between S$10/t and S$20/t (US$7.35-14.7/t) on GHG emissions starting from 2019 in order to meet its commitments under the 2015 UNFCCC Paris Agreement. The country committed to reducing its emissions intensity by 36% from 2005 levels by 2030 and to stabilise its emissions to peaking around 2030 levels.