Hanoi (VNA) – Singapore will impose acarbon tax from next year in an effort to cut its greenhouse gas emissions andmake companies more competitive as global agreements on climate change takeeffect.
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said on February 19 that the tax would belevied on all facilities producing 25,000 tonnes or more of greenhouse gasemissions a year.
The tax, to be applied to all sectors, will be 5 SGD (3.8 USD) per tonne ofgreenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2023, after which the levy will bereviewed and possibly raised to between 10 SGD and 15 SGD per tonne by 2030.
The levy will affect about 30-40 companies, mainly from the petroleum refining,chemicals and semiconductor sectors, the Straits Times reported.
However, Heng said the new carbon tax would encourage businesses to takemeasures to reduce emissions, making them more competitive as tighter limitsare imposed by more countries when international deals come into force.
Singapore expects to collect carbon tax revenues of nearly 1 billion SGD in thefirst five years, but the government is willing to spend more than that to helpcompanies, he said.
Singapore ranks 26th out of 142 countries in terms of emissions per capitabased on the latest International Energy Agency data largely due to its smallsize and dense population, according to the government.
The most notable step has been the 197-nation Paris Agreement, inked in 2015,which calls for limiting global warming to "well under" 2 degreesCelsius, and "pursuing efforts" to cap warming at 1.5 degrees C. - VNA
VNA
