Speech by Mr Mohamad Maidin
BPM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Environment

At the Opening Session of the Germany-Singapore Environmental Technology Agency (GSETA): Joint Seminar on energy efficiency and renewable energy
19 April 2004 in Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany

Mrs Margareta Wolf

Parliamentary State Secretary

Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to speak at this opening session of the Joint Seminar on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, organised by the Germany-Singapore Environmental Technology Agency (GSETA).

Let me first extend a very warm welcome to all participants to this Seminar, especially our friends and counterparts from the Asia-Pacific region. I also wish to acknowledge the presence of many experts from the business, academia and government sectors, who are here to contribute to the deliberations on the challenging issue of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Last month, the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii reported that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had increased to almost 380 parts per million this year, up from the concentration of 280 parts per million at the turn of the last century. This is a rise of almost 40% over the 1900 level.

When the Swedish scientist Arrhenius in the late 19 th century first postulated the theory that carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning activities could warm the Earth, it was dismissed as implausible as no one then believed that global temperatures could be significantly affected by human activities. During the 20 th century, the world population quadrupled, fossil fuel consumption grew 15 times and the global mean temperature of the Earth increased by half a degree Celsius.

The fossil fuel greenhouse theory continues to receive closer attention as observations corroborate prediction data and our understanding of the links between fossil fuel burning, climate change, and their environmental impacts improves.

The bulk of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels. Energy is, therefore, the heart of the matter in discussions on climate change. Energy is also essential to meeting basic human needs and supporting economic growth. It is little wonder that one of the greatest challenges of sustainable development is that of finding environmentally sustainable sources of energy. This is also a major agenda of governments all over the world.

The International Energy Outlook 2003 reported that total world energy consumption would increase by 58 percent between 2001 and 2025, and that much of this increment is projected to be for fossil fuels. This is largely because the prices of fossil fuels are expected to remain relatively low while the cost of generating energy from other fuels is not expected to be competitive. The realities of rising energy consumption and the associated threat of climate change present a daunting challenge to the global community.

As alarming as all this sounds, the application of a one “size fit all” strategy of requiring drastic reductions by all parties may be too simplistic and one-dimensional. Energy is a particularly vital economic resource for growth and human development. More than a third of the world's population still has no access to electricity and many still rely on the traditional use of biomass to meet their cooking and heating needs.

Making energy available means fulfilling vital needs such as the pumping of water for irrigation or processing of agricultural products. So, while various estimates project the energy needs of the developing countries increasing at 30% per annum, many people in these countries still have only limited or no access to energy.

For climate change programmes to attain general acceptance, they must offer elements of policy, strategy and solutions that are appropriate and equitable and that augment individual nation's capabilities as well as improve their developmental status.

Sustainable energy sources that can produce sufficient electricity to meet current global demand and are environmentally benign do not yet exist. A very effective way to meet the energy sustainability challenge is therefore to invest in the development of revolutionary technology for energy production, distribution, storage and conversion.

Today, while new energy technologies that are being explored seem promising, they are not without drawbacks and limitations. Also, their development will require huge investments – something that not all countries can afford or set aside, given competing demand from other developmental needs. Thus, while it is important to promote the development of alternative energy technologies, it would be a while before sustainable energy technologies and options become affordable to all and certain enough to be widely adopted

Let me speak on what Singapore has and will be doing to meet its own energy demand, which is expected to grow in tandem with our economic development.

Singapore is a small island city-state that is not endowed with any natural resources. We have no potential to develop non-fossil alternative sources of energy – be it hydro, nuclear, or geothermal – on a large enough scale. Hence, we are totally dependent on imported fossil fuels for our energy needs, and our carbon dioxide emissions will inadvertently grow as Singapore continues to develop. The specific needs and special circumstances of Singapore are recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (or UNFCCC). Singapore nonetheless seeks to play its part at mitigate CO2 emissions. These will focus largely on greater energy efficiency and the switch to viable cleaner energies.

Next, I will share some major initiatives that Singapore has implemented as part of our contributions towards the climate change mitigation goal.

First, our power generation sector has undergone major enhancements over the last ten years and has emerged as a low carbon industry. Power generation by combined cycle and cogeneration plants using natural gas now contributes to more than 60% of Singapore's power production and the percentage is still rising.

Second, our public policies favour public transport over private car ridership with significant financial disincentives for car ownership and usage. We have invested substantially in electric mass transit systems and will continue to develop the rail infrastructure into the next decade.

Third, Singapore also hopes to foster and facilitate the transfer of know-how and expertise into the region by playing host to test-bedding initiatives for innovative technologies in carbon mitigation as regional countries are also actively embarking on their own energy development programmes.

One of the key thrusts of our National Energy Efficiency Committee, which I chair, is the promotion of Singapore as a location for the pilot test bedding of pioneering energy technologies, as well as a hub for the development and commercialisation of clean energy technologies. Forty years of industrialisation as well as the building and maintenance of a clean and green city have given Singapore a wealth of experience in engineering and environmental services.

Last August, my Ministry and the Economic Development Board of Singapore jointly launched the Environmental Test-bedding Initiative. Two programmes are in place under this initiative, namely the Singapore Initiative in New Energy Technology, or SINERGY, and the Innovation in Environmental Technology, or EnnovaTe. These programmes are intended to bring together players from both the public and private sectors in the spirit of innovation and to make use of Singapore as a living-working laboratory.

I would like to invite German and other European companies that have offices in Singapore to make use of these test-bedding and funding opportunities that we have made available so that we can jointly advance the development and introduction of innovative alternative energy technologies into Asia.

Singapore and Germany have enjoyed a close working relationship on environmental co-operation since GSETA was established in Nov 1991 to support environmental cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. To date, the GSETA has successfully staged 15 regional activities benefiting some 700 participants from the Asia-Pacific region. This Seminar on the development of renewable energies and energy efficiency is yet another good platform for the region to learn from German and European environmental expertise and technological experiences.

On behalf of the Singapore Government, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the German Federal Government, and in particular; the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the German Federal Environment Agency and the Environmental Policy Research Unit of the Free University of Berlin for organizing this Seminar.

I hope that this week's Joint Seminar, which is the first GSETA seminar to be hosted in Germany, will benefit regional participants gathered here today. By bringing together the technology suppliers, economic experts and the stakeholders concerned, this initiative will help mobilise all these players to overcome some of the obstacles, which hamper the development of sustainable energy solutions.

I wish you a fruitful sharing of experiences over the next three days.

Thank you.