Singapore is evaluating its carbon tax level and will announce the revised rate for 2024 in its 2022 Budget on February 18, as reported by Straits Times on January 25. Singapore has set the carbon tax rate from 2019 to 2023 at SGD5 (USD3.71) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted. Aside from unveiling the revised rate for 2024, the Singapore government will also release anticipated carbon tax rates by 2030, setting aside time for businesses to adjust. The carbon tax will add an explicit cost on emitters for their environmental impact. The collected funds will help provide incentives to enterprises seeking decarbonization, citing Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment.

In 2019. Singapore became the first Southeast Asian country to introduce a carbon tax. The city-state currently imposes the duty to all facilities that emit over 25,000 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) in a year, covering 30 to 40 large emitters that account for 80% of Singapore’s GHG emissions. Last October, Singapore allocated SGD180m (USD133m) towards the creation of the Enterprise Sustainability Program to help Singaporean businesses build knowledge and capabilities in sustainability. Additionally, Singapore’s Enterprise Development Grant, which offsets 80% of the cost for projects that help businesses grow and transform, will also increase its focus on sustainability. According to Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, the country aims to halve its 2030 peak GHG emissions by 2050 and to realize zero emissions as soon as possible in the second half of the century.

Sources:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/outcome-of-carbon-tax-review-to-be-announced-at-budget-2022

https://www.tax-news.com/news/Singapore_Expected_To_Hike_Carbon_Tax_In_2022_Budget____97999.html

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/raising-carbon-tax-rate-building-talent-pipeline-mps-suggest-ways-to-further-spores-green-transition

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/enterprise-sustainability-programme-help-singapore-businesses-tap-green-economy-2214601