36 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – OCTOBER 2023 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM SINGAPORE Singapore is using technology to overcome its lack of natural renewable resources to achieve its commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In February 2021, the city-state launched SGP 2030 – its long-term sustainability roadmap that includes targets to significantly increase solar energy infrastructure, build emission-friendly power generation technology and enhance electric vehicle deployment. Shemane Chan, a partner at Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann, says that Singapore also came out with a vital carbon pricing law in 2019 that aims to encourage industries to reduce their carbon emission by way of levying a “progressive” carbon tax on emissions. Singapore’s carbon tax rate is currently 5 Singapore dollar ($3.60) per tonne and will be increased to 25 Singapore dollar per tonne in 2024 and 45 Singapore dollar per tonne in 2025, with a view to reach 50 Singapore dollar to 80 Singapore dollar per tonne by 2030, Chan explains. Another key component of Singapore’s strategy to reach its net zero commitments is its transition to green energy sources. “The Singapore government has identified four supply “switches” to transition Singapore’s electricity generation to low-carbon generation sources: (i) to enhance the energy efficiency of Singapore’s natural gas power plants; (ii) accelerating solar deployment; (iii) tapping on regional power grids for low-carbon electricity imports; and (iv) developing low-carbon solutions such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage solutions which will enable decarbonisation in the longerterm,” Chan says. Key to this energy transition is the use of solar energy, available in abundance to countries like Singapore in the tropical belt. “Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) is collaborating with the industry and government agencies to maximise solar deployment in Singapore by using innovative methods such as deployment of floating solar farms, installing building-integrated photovoltaics and rooftop solar photovoltaic systems on buildings,” Chan says. Rajah & Tann recently acted for the EPC contractor to secure a project to deploy a large-scale 60 MWp floating solar farm at Singapore’s Tengah Reservoir. “As Singapore’s Public Utilities Board has announced more potential projects in the pipeline to deploy floating solar farms at other water bodies in the country, we expect that law firms in Singapore will see more work for such floating solar projects in the near future,” Chan says. “We also anticipate more demand for legal work with regards to the supply and installation of battery energy storage systems in Singapore,” Chan adds. In Feb. 2023, Singapore launched a 285-megawatt-hour energy storage system in Jurong Island which is the largest energy storage system in Southeast Asia and was commissioned within six months. Law firms can also expect more work coming in from Singapore’s lowcarbon energy import deals. EMA first granted its conditional approval to Keppel Energy to import 1GW of electricity from Cambodia generated using a mix of solar, hydropower and potentially wind sources. Recently, EMA announced that five projects have been granted conditional approval to import a total of 2GW of electricity from Indonesia using solar sources. “Singapore law firms can also expect more work to come from the development of additional infrastructure to support the various import projects – ex. laying of additional subsea cables, installation of additional battery energy storage systems and mobilisation of back-up facilities to provide ancillary services to ensure stability of Singapore’s power grid,” Chan says. VIETNAM A 2021 World Bank report found that Vietnam is among the top five countries most likely to be affected by climate change. Despite its pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, a McKinsey report found that the country’s energy transition will be difficult as a high proportion of its GDP comes from high-carbon sectors and much of its capital stock is tied up in fossil-fuelbased power. Vietnam has taken steps to further its national strategy on climate change which was released in 2020. These include laying out regulations for a domestic carbon credit market, issuing guidelines on greenhouse gas emission reduction, establishing a national steering committee to guide the country towards its net-zero goal, and conducting greenhouse gas inventory and emission reduction assessments for facilities in the country based on levels of emission. The head of Vietnamese law firm LNT & Partners’ Hanoi office, Vu Thanh Minh, says that a new law specifically outlines the roadmap for establishing and operating the carbon trade exchange, with a pilot phase commencENERGY “Numerous stakeholders, both from public and private sectors, have shown great interest in carbon trading and are actively developing projects tailored to their business. This situation presents a great opportunity for law firms to make substantial contributions by structuring the projects, meticulously drafting and negotiating the transaction documents for carbon trading.” — Kirana D Sastrawijaya, UMBRA
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