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Singapore is keeping an eye out for innovative ways to further reduce emissions in the long term. The government has said that it will boost research and development in carbon capture and storage (CCS). However, to scale up the technology, there are still many obstacles, leading some question whether CCS can be a long-term solution for emissions reduction.
Huge investments for CCS
In February, Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister, said in Parliament that CCS can provide heavy emitters, such as those in the chemical and power sectors, with an advantage in the green transition by aiding them in decarbonizing more effectively.
The government said in March that it would be giving around S$12 million in grants for research and development in emerging technologies, including novel ways of capturing CO2 in low concentrations. CO2 emissions tend to be released in diluted concentrations, making capture difficult, thus lots of research is going into developing techniques to capture CO2 in a cost-effective way.
In addition, Singapore has limited potential for local CO2 storage due to the absence of suitable underground geological formations. Therefore, the country is engaging in discussions with its regional partners about the possibility of shipping CO2 to them for potential storage.
