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Scope for Singapore to collaborate with UAE on low-carbon technologies: President Halimah

Posted on January 19, 2022 by dishanth

Singapore can work with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on solutions that reduce planet-warming carbon emissions to sustain “robust global responses to the climate crisis”, said President Halimah Yacob on Monday (Jan 17). These solutions include hydrogen fuel and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

Delivering a virtual keynote speech for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit held in Dubai, she highlighted green innovations and efforts in the UAE, such as its vast solar parks and being the first in the Middle East and North Africa region to declare a net-zero commitment by 2050.

Dubai houses the region’s first solar-driven hydrogen electrolysis facility to produce green hydrogen, where the gas is produced using renewable energy and has zero emissions.

Singapore is keen to collaborate with the UAE on improving the technical feasibility and the establishment of supply chains for low-carbon hydrogen, said Madam Halimah.

Such advanced low-carbon technologies are an area of interest for Singapore, which has pumped $55 million into 12 research projects in the areas of hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

A local study looking at the feasibility of using hydrogen as a fuel stated last year (2021) that Singapore would need to explore various supply pathways for price-competitive low-carbon hydrogen.

It was reported in June last year that three Singapore agencies were studying whether hydrogen could be imported via ships or pipes.

“We cannot afford to work in isolation when our planet’s future is at stake. Cooperation, partnerships and leadership are critical,” said Madam Halimah.

“Sustainability plans and road maps, including our Singapore Green Plan, will need to be refined as technologies evolve, mistakes are made and learnt from, and the knowledge and experiences of others guide us onto better and wiser paths,” she added.

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) is the first global and large-scale sustainability event after last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland.

The programme – which started on Saturday and ends on Wednesday – convenes numerous world leaders, international businesses and students to accelerate pathways to further sustainability and meet net-zero goals.

ADSW also acts as a global catalyst for COP27, which will be held in Egypt later this year, and COP28, which will be hosted by the UAE in 2023.

Speaking from Singapore, Madam Halimah said on Monday that the Republic and UAE will be enhancing their bilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) on environmental protection and climate change to include food and water security.

The MOU – signed in 2017 – identified environmental protection, climate change and sustainable development issues of mutual interest to both countries, and established a mechanism through which both nations can pursue cooperative efforts.

“As we work to implement our respective plans, Singapore stands ready to collaborate with the UAE and other partners in the Middle East,” added Madam Halimah.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said in Parliament last week that there is “significant uncertainty” associated with technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

“Their commercial success hinges on factors such as technological maturity and transboundary cooperation, which are not entirely within our control,” she said during a debate on Singapore’s green transition.

There have been sustainability-related collaborations between the UAE and Singapore.

Last year, a few Abu Dhabi organisations collaborated with Enterprise Singapore to hunt for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises from the Republic that can help with smart city developments in the Middle East. The partnership is called the Abu Dhabi-Singapore Smart Cities Open Innovation Challenge.

Mr Imran Hamsa, Enterprise Singapore’s regional group director for Middle East and North Africa, told The Straits Times: “As global trading hubs, Singapore and the UAE share strong economic links and cooperation in areas such as innovation and sustainability.

“Through this innovation call, we hope to uncover new and viable solutions that will accelerate the development of smart cities and knowledge economies for both countries.”

Ms Fu is in Dubai for the ADSW. On Monday, she attended the Zayed Sustainability Prize award ceremony, where Singaporean company Wateroam – which develops portable water filters – won an award under the water category.

Ms Fu will be meeting various officials, including UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, and the chief executive of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.

In a statement, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment said Ms Fu and the government officials will discuss ways to enhance cooperation in areas such as food and water security, and climate action.

Source The Straits Times

Think small to fight climate change

Posted on November 29, 2021 by dishanth

When applied to droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, or other extreme weather events, the term “unprecedented” is getting old. In August, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest report about the dire realities we face, a drought exacerbated by global warming already had been raging for years across much of southern Africa.

It seems as though world leaders are finally ready to take meaningful action, but there’s a critical group regularly missing from key climate meetings like the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow: local, climate-focused small businesses that already are making a difference in their communities. Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) working on climate adaptation and mitigation are a crucial but underestimated partner in the fight to reduce emissions.

Even though climate financing options are increasing, SMEs’ role in sustainable development continues to be overlooked. Their predicament is one shared by more than 200 million SMEs of all types in developing countries that cannot get the funds they need to grow, facing an estimated US$5.2 trillion annual financing gap.

International investors focus on getting dollars out the door through larger deals, while local capital is kept on the sidelines by high collateral requirements and unmanageable interest rates for early-stage businesses.

SMEs represent 90 per cent of businesses and provide more than 50 per cent of jobs worldwide according to the World Bank, so they have a key role to play in creating opportunities in economies struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Examples like SELCO India, a pioneering off-grid solar company, and Husk Power, an innovative pay-as-you-go renewable energy provider operating in Asia and Africa, show that with the right amount and type of financing and technical support, small businesses can improve lives through energy access – a key international goal. Off-grid renewables also help power sustainable mobility in both rural and urban settings.

Small businesses also have an important role to play in greening agriculture. Land use for crop and livestock production accounts for 24 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, and farms are vulnerable to droughts, floods, and rising temperatures. Financing climate-smart agricultural entrepreneurs is essential for making our food systems more resilient.

Here, too, off-grid renewable energy has become indispensable, providing power for irrigation, processing grains, and operating the cold rooms and coolers needed to store dairy products, fresh seafood, and fruits and vegetables. In India, Technoserve is helping small farms withstand and adapt to the climate crisis and raise their productivity without increasing emissions.

As these examples show, when small businesses have the financing and support they need, they can drive economic growth while mitigating emissions and supporting adaptation to climate change. That is because small businesses are more agile and adaptable – and respond to local needs much faster and more effectively – than large organisations. They also offer governments and policymakers an opportunity to try out new ideas, revealing both pitfalls and best practices before initiatives are scaled regionally or nationally.

For starters, the world needs far more finance vehicles and instruments that are tailored to small businesses working in the green economy. That means a mix of lower-cost, long-term capital and blended finance, as well as easier access.

Achieving the global goal of net-zero emissions requires policymakers, investors, banks, and others to attend to SMEs’ needs much more effectively than they have in the past. For starters, the world needs far more finance vehicles and instruments that are tailored to small businesses working in the green economy. That means a mix of lower-cost, long-term capital and blended finance, as well as easier access.

The world also needs more business accelerators focused on adaptation to climate change. There are only 25 such green accelerators located in non-OECD countries. Funding research and establishing professional networks will drive support to businesses that have strong growth potential.

Better metrics to assess success will be needed. That does not mean lowering environmental, social, and governance standards. Instead, it means devising indicators specifically for green enterprises in the SME sector to help them demonstrate their effectiveness and attract more investment.

Finally, investors must not overlook women, who produce up to 80 per cent of food in the Global South. Women also are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Investing in female climate entrepreneurs benefits the climate, food production, and overall prosperity.

Small businesses are integral to climate-change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. Providing them the financing and support necessary to help them succeed is in everyone’s interest.

Kristina Skierka is CEO of Power for All. Richenda Van Leeuwen is Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs.

Source Eco Business