Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan Attends the High-Level Segment of the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru

Singapore’s carbon intensity has decreased 30 per cent from 2000 to 2010

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, is attending the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference* in Lima, Peru from 9 to 12 December 2014.

The Conference aims to lay the foundation for a new climate change agreement which will come into effect from 2020. The agreement will have to be finalised by 2015 at the next UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, France. The Conference will also discuss information requirements for Parties’ post-2020 intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), and ways to enhance action on climate change prior to 2020.

In his address to the Conference in the afternoon of 9 December (Peruvian time), Minister Balakrishnan stressed the need to build momentum for the Conference in Paris in 2015. He underlined the importance of encouraging universal participation and recognising each country’s unique national circumstances in order to build a durable and effective post-2020 global agreement.

Minister Balakrishnan also emphasised Singapore’s commitment to support the multilateral system for dealing with climate change. Singapore had submitted its Biennial Update Report (BUR) earlier this week. The BUR provides a summary of Singapore’s actions to mitigate climate change and its effects. Singapore has achieved a 30 per cent decrease in carbon intensity for the period 2000-2010, which compares favourably with the global average decrease of 0.12 per cent, over the same period.

The Conference is a joint session of the 20th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 20), the 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP10) and relevant subsidiary bodies.

Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

National Climate Change Secretariat