from the ground Up

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 10 2009
Roadshows, exhibitions to engage residents and show ways to save costs
EFFORTS to reduce Singapore’s dependence on energy generated by fossil fuels have been ramped up and aimed at the heartland.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan launched a bigger, better version of the Energy Save Programme yesterday.
The scheme, [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 4 2009
Energy Studies Institute to examine its effect on businesses, homes here
A MAJOR study has begun to throw light on just what Singapore might look like in a carbon-priced world where concerns about climate change are finally being tackled.
The Energy Studies Institute (ESI) will examine issues surrounding caps [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 1 2009
Essential part of energy plan, plant risked delay due to economic crisis
THE Government has taken over the development of Singapore’s first LNG terminal as the global credit crunch threatens to delay plans for its completion.
Singapore Power’s unit PowerGas and French partner GDF Suez were originally appointed to [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, June 3 2009
MORE green shoots have emerged in the economy, this time in the form of energy demand last month, which increased from April’s level of use.
Last month’s demand for electricity reached 4,697 megawatts (MW), up 3.6 per cent from April – a reversal of demand decline since September [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, May 26 2009
NORWEGIAN oil giant StatoilHydro yesterday opened a new office in Singapore to serve as its Asia-Pacific headquarters.
The move reflects Asia’s importance to the firm’s growth, said its executive vice-president Jon Arnt Jacobsen.
The group is the world’s third-largest crude oil trader and company chiefs aim to expand its [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, May 25 2009
$1.47b deal could be largest public takeover in Asian refining sector
KEPPEL Corp, the world’s top offshore oil rig builder, is selling its entire stake in Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) to PetroChina for $1.47 billion.
If successful, this could be the largest public takeover in the Asian refining and [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, May 9 2009
THE status quo in the global transport sector is not sustainable, Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive Jeroen van der Veer has warned.
Emerging energy sources for transport must be cheap, clean and convenient, he said, speaking to reporters at the Shell Eco-marathon on Thursday.
Given that any overhaul of [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, April 28 2009

SINGAPORE’S policymakers have unveiled a sweeping blueprint, 15 months in the making, to help build a greener, more energy efficient and sustainable nation.
The $1 billion plan, to be implemented over the next five years, will change everything from the cityscape and landscape here, to the way Singaporeans live and the way businesses are run.
If successful, it will make energy usage here more efficient, reduce pollution and expand the nation’s green spaces – even as the demand for resources rises along with economic growth.
The report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) – co-authored by five different ministries – also pledges to advance Singapore’s ambition to be a clean technology and urban environmental solutions hub.
This sector is set to add an estimated $3.4 billion to economic output and create 18,000 “green collar” jobs by 2015.
Speaking at the launch of the 130-page report yesterday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan acknowledged that the document comes amid Singapore’s worst recession since independence.
“The temptation is to slow down our efforts in the area of sustainable development while we tackle the immediate economic challenges. However, the two are not mutually exclusive,” he said.
“If we want to face the challenges of the future, we really have to start now, today. It’s going to take us a long time… but we’re financially committed to it.”
The report outlines the findings and recommendations of the IMCSD, which was set up in January last year to look at ways to create a sustainable nation in the wake of increasing global awareness of the world’s dwindling natural resources and climate change.
Over the past year, more than 700 people including members of the public, leaders of non-governmental organisations, businesses, grassroots organisations, academics, and media figures offered views through various focus group discussions.
Members of the public also submitted more than 1,300 suggestions in the process.
The feedback has resulted in some aggressive targets, including a 35 per cent improvement in energy efficiency from 2005 levels, as well as a recycling rate of 70 per cent, by 2030.
Singapore also wants to increase its proportion of environmentally friendly “green” buildings from 1 per cent currently to at least 80 per cent by 2030.
Industry observers yesterday called the report “comprehensive and impressive”, but some also highlighted critical gaps.
Dr Geh Min, former president of the Nature Society, said the report was a “a good reflection of extensive intra-governmental as well as community dialogue”.
She applauded the attention given to solar energy, alternative transport such as cycling, and biodiversity conservation.
Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw said the report was “holistic in nature, capturing key areas”.
However, he said that it failed to include discussion of carbon emissions and “cap-and-trade systems”, a form of carbon trading where polluting industries have to buy carbon credits for the right to pollute.
The other IMCSD co-chair, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim, said yesterday that Singapore, which lacks natural renewable sources such as wind and geothermal energy, cannot realistically take on such emission targets.
However, the nation is “betting big” on solar energy and is investing heavily in the sector, and will not rule out mass adoption of solar power when it becomes cost-effective to do so, he added.
In any case, the report is an “evolving document” which will be reviewed every five years, said Dr Yaacob.
Responding to the recommendations, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that he was encouraged by the participation of so many Singaporeans in the report.
“This issue concerns not just one or two ministries, but the whole country. Hence we will tackle it using a whole-of- government approach,” he added.

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, 17 April 2009
Work on underground oil storage facility to start by year’s end; phase 1 to cost $890m
PHASE 1 of Jurong Rock Cavern, the first underground oil storage facility to be built in South-east Asia, will finally begin construction by year’s end and cost about $890 million.
The first storage [...]

After writing my climate change report, where I highlighted the milestones oil giants have made in the last two years, in acknowledging climate change and taking action, all the news I’ve read recently just show them regressing.

Here is the latest story by The New York Times: “Oil Giants Loath to Follow Obama’s Green Lead.”

It’s great we’ve got a green US president for once, but we need green oil giant chief executives too. I wish they would all fail and have to beg for bailouts like the US automakers then Congress and Obama could twist their arm into behaving like responsible citizens.