Regional CCS: Singapore, Japan enhance collaboration on CCS
Wednesday, August 21 2024 - 10:42 PM WIB
By Romel S. Gurky
Singapore and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to advance collaboration on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), an essential technology for reducing carbon emissions in hard-to-abate sectors. The agreement was formalized on the sidelines of the 2nd Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting held in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The MOC was signed by Singapore’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr. Tan See Leng, and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ken Saito. This partnership aims to facilitate knowledge exchange on best practices for cross-border CCS initiatives, share insights on CCS technologies, and pool expertise and resources from both nations to accelerate the adoption of CCS in the region.
“Today’s MOC signals both Singapore and Japan’s commitment to deploying decarbonization pathways to address climate change. Singapore is eager to work closely with Japan to develop and adopt common standards for CCS, creating a more interoperable market for CCS solutions in the region,” said Minister Tan. He also emphasized Japan’s leadership in CCS technology innovation and expressed interest in learning from Japan’s research and adoption of CCS technologies.
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CCS, which involves capturing, transporting, and storing carbon dioxide to prevent it from entering the atmosphere, is recognized globally as a crucial method to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have highlighted CCS as essential to mitigating the effects of global warming and achieving global climate goals.
The AZEC Ministerial Meeting, initiated by Japan, serves as a multilateral platform to accelerate Asia’s decarbonization transition by working with regional partners to pursue energy transition pathways. The meeting included representatives from AZEC partner countries, which comprise Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Editing by Alexander Ginting