Mr S Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, shares Singapore's energy best practices at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. (Photo credit: Reprinted with the permission of IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin)
The reality check for Singapore may sound daunting--few natural resources and even fewer alternative energy sources. However, the city-state believes it can still contribute much to the global renewable energy efforts.
At the 5th World Future Energy Summit (WFES) held in Abu Dhabi this week, Mr S Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, announced that Singapore is seeking membership in IRENA.
The International Renewable Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organisation and key global platform for the promotion of renewable energy. The US and EU are among the 84 members under IRENA, which held its Second Assembly at WFES earlier this week to discuss how to accelerate renewable energy deployment in the fossil fuel-dependent region.
According to Minister Iswaran, membership in IRENA will allow the city-state to "raise its level of participation in the global clean energy dialogue and learn from the experiences of other countries". He added that Singapore can "further build up knowledge and expertise in renewable energy" to "mitigate its energy constraints and collaborate with the global community on the development of renewable energy technologies and initiatives".
(Photo credit: CPC media office)
Meanwhile, the WFES experience will be brought to Asia this year for a regional audience, with the Asia Future Energy Summit debuting under the SIEW marque on 22-25 October.