Opening Remarks by MOS Alvin Tan at Singapore-Ghana Carbon Markets Roundtable

Your Excellency Dr John Kingsley Krugu, Executive Director for the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

1. Happy to be in Ghana leading Singapore's first carbon credits business mission.

2. This also marks my first visit to Accra. I am honoured to be building upon the warm ties established between Singapore and Ghana over the past decades.

3. Despite our geographical distance, Singapore and Ghana share several similarities. Both countries share a common history as former British colonies and port cities that have flourished through regional and international trade. Our populations are ethnically and culturally diverse, and we have enjoyed years of peace and stability. Despite being relatively smaller in size compared our neighbours, both our countries serve as gateways and business hubs for our respective regions - Southeast Asia and West Africa. This likeminded approach to free trade and foreign direct investments has underpinned our respective growth and are key pillars upon which we have built our bilateral partnership.

Growing Bilateral Relations between Singapore and Ghana

4. Our bilateral ties have grown over the years. Let me share some of the more significant ones:

a. Warm bilateral ties at the senior level. Singapore's current President, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was then Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, visited Ghana 5 years ago where he called on President Nana Akufo Addo. They discussed practical areas for our countries to work together on, including technical and vocation training, tax administration and investment promotion.

b. In terms of people-to-people flows, Ghana and Singapore nationals currently enjoy visa-free entry to each other's countries, promoting growth in business and leisure travel.

c. On the economic front, Enterprise Singapore's overseas centre for West Africa in Accra has been established for > 10 years, since its set up in 2013. The centre supports Singapore companies in their market expansion and investments to Ghana.

In 2017, Singapore and Ghana signed an avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (DTA), which entered into force in 2020. This agreement lower barriers to cross-border investment and boosts trade and economic flows between Singapore and Ghana.

5. In 2022, Singapore's trade in goods and services with Ghana amounted to over US$640 million[1], and our companies have directly invested US$280 million in Ghana. Glad to see well-known Singapore companies operating in Ghana, such as Olam and Wilmar in the agri-business sector, and Surbana Jurong in urban solutions.

6. We must continue to build on this momentum and to identify new areas of collaboration. One such area of collaboration is climate change.

Significance of the Singapore-Ghana Implementation Agreement

7. Singapore and Ghana reached a significant milestone when we signed an Implementation Agreement (IA) on carbon credits cooperation aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in May this year.

a. This is a legally-binding bilateral framework, that allows us to cooperate to achieve our climate targets through the transfer of high-integrity Article 6 compliant carbon credits.

b. A concrete demonstration of how Singapore and Ghana work together to advance global climate action.

8. On many counts, Ghana has been a forerunner in the Article 6 carbon markets. It was one of the first countries to put in place a national framework for carbon markets in 2022 to operationalise Article 6 collaborations, and the first to model and ink an Implementation Agreement.

a. We are hence thrilled that our first Implementation Agreement signed with an African country is with Ghana.

b. We are also proud to be the first Asian nation that Ghana has inked an Implementation Agreement with.

9. Carbon credit projects developed under this Agreement will create new pathways to accelerate climate action, and crowd in new investments towards mitigation and adaptation efforts in Ghana.

a. We are committed to accepting only projects of high environmental integrity under our Implementation Agreement, and we trust that these projects will also bring about concrete sustainable development benefits to the local communities, by creating good jobs, reducing pollution, and enhancing biodiversity.

From Agreement to Action - Working Hand-in-Hand

10. We must act fast to operationalise the agreement, and realise these concrete projects and benefits for our countries.

11. We are committed to deliver on this. That's why I have brought a delegation of 22 Singapore-based companies to Ghana this week. It also reflects strong interest by our companies, ranging from project developers, to traders, investors, and other carbon services providers, to tap the opportunities offered in Ghana's growing carbon market.

12. We are grateful for the support of the Ghana Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for being a core part of the business mission programme, including the two-day Singapore-Ghana Carbon Market Roundtable.

13. Over the course of the mission, I hope that we will achieve the following three outcomes:

14. First, for companies to better understand Ghana's business landscape, opportunities in the Article 6 carbon market, and how we can use the Singapore-Ghana Implementation Agreement to generate high-integrity Article 6 compliant carbon credit projects.

15. Second, building connections between Singapore and Ghana businesses. I urge companies to make full use of business matching sessions tomorrow to connect and create projects that advance climate action and bring meaningful impact to local communities in Ghana.

16. Third, co-creating solutions. The carbon market has faced challenges. Rather than allow these to undermine the potential of carbon markets, we must look to innovative solutions, such as using digital technology, innovative financing and digital MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) to raise the integrity and credibility of the market. We should not settle with the status quo but keep making improvements to the market.

Closing

17. This business mission marks the start of an exciting and impactful collaboration between Singapore and Ghana. We wish everyone a fruitful few days ahead.

18. Thank you.

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