Research

The ‘Technology Assessment and Decarbonisation Pathways’ programme addresses the following LEDS priority areas:

• Halving emissions from peak by 2050 and then reaching net zero later this century;
• Power generation; and
• Emerging technological solutions.

This programme is defined by rigorous integrated system modeling using a suite of analytical tools and techniques to deliver robust and defensible evaluations of future energy, environment, and economic pathways under plausible future scenarios.

The ‘Technology assessment and decarbonisation pathways’ programme has several ongoing projects spanning multiple LEDS priority areas. The following three research areas define ESI’s work in this area:

Singapore’s Decarbonisation Pathways

Technical feasibility and business opportunities for low-carbon technologies in Singapore

Energy Storage Systems: Opportunities, Challenges, and Business Models for Commercial Deployment in Singapore

The ‘Energy Consumption, Carbon Accounting and the Circular Economy’ programme addresses multiple LEDS priority areas.

The ongoing and planned future projects within this line of research have been carefully structured to provide a whole-of-economy understanding of energy consumption and embodied emissions in the goods and services we use.

• Halving emissions from peak by 2050 and then reach net zero;
• Industry;
• Households; and
• Waste and water.

Building on past experience and ongoing projects, ESI is undertaking research under the ‘Energy Consumption, Carbon Accounting and the Circular Economy’ with ongoing research in the following thematic areas:

Energy Services

Embodied carbon profiles and carbon calculators [life-cycle assessment (LCA)]

Circular economy

The ‘Strategies of Other Countries’ programme has been introduced to uniquely target the most ‘Singapore centric’ LEDS priority area and accelerated ambitions related to it: to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Regulatory changes and levers utilised by jurisdictions to support the integration of low-carbon alternatives are constantly evolving. Furthermore, ‘rapid switches’ are being triggered across the globe with all signs pointing towards the start of the ‘race to net zero’.

2050 is a target year adopted by many countries, while Singapore adopts more cautious commitments. However, the strategies of other countries will establish expectations for Singapore’s domestic policy, in terms of both the timing and extent of policy commitment.

The ‘Strategies of Other Countries’ programme is structure around two ongoing major projects. Our research projects under this programme help to both sharpen and deepen ESI’s already rich expertise in the areas of energy governance and energy security.

This will involve thought leadership through a combination of ESI developed research insights, and convening events to capture leading regional and international insights.

Carbon neutral strategies of other key jurisdictions

Decarbonisation strategies of other key economies

The ‘Security of Supply’ programme addresses the following LEDS priority areas.

• Power generation;
• Emerging technological solutions; and
• Building international partnerships.

This programme builds upon a long tradition of research that ESI has undertaken into energy security. Key issues that are covered include but are not limited to: energy diplomacy, new trends in energy production and consumption, resource nationalism and competition, the opening of new supply routes, the rise of national oil companies, the impact of new technologies, as well as global and regional developments that affect energy supply and demand.

The ‘Security of Supply’ programme has ongoing projects tackling challenging regional and global energy supply chains and the consequences they may have to Singapore’s future energy system: Cumulatively, these projects examine the geopolitical considerations, challenges and opportunities associated with Singapore’s various energy options including energy imports from a regionally interconnected electricity grid.

Research projects under this programme help to expand ESI’s already awareness in the areas of energy governance and energy security.

This will involve thought leadership through a combination of ESI developed research insights, and convening events to capture leading regional and international insights.

International security of supply

ASEAN Energy Interconnection and Energy Security

The ‘Carbon Pricing and Climate Finance’ programme will develop and maintain market insights that addresses two LEDS priority areas:

• Cross-sectoral measures; and
• Seizing growth opportunities.

The programme will evaluate the empirical (ex-post) and potential (ex-ante) impacts of changes in carbon pricing both within Singapore and by other economies (carbon tax and the carbon border adjustment mechanism or CBAM) on Singapore’s decarbonisation and economy.

To do so requires understanding mandatory carbon pricing schemes and also to monitor and evaluate the suite of internal carbon pricing practices emerging around the world.

These will be used to draw out implications for Singapore’s future carbon pricing strategies.

The research tracks under this programme span closely related subject matter but differ in terms of geographic focus, and in turn the depth of analysis and specificity of policy prescription they can offer.

Together our projects are mutually reinforcing, and will enable project teams to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of carbon pricing issues and provide more practical recommendations for Singapore’s future policy design.

The current phase of the research programme ‘Carbon Pricing and Climate Finance’ is built on three core pillars:

Carbon pricing in Singapore

Carbon pricing strategies of other key economies

International Development Finance for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

About the Project

The Energy Studies Institute (ESI) of NUS is undertaking a research project entitled “Nuclear Safety Governance: Best Practices, Lessons Learned and Future Prospects”. This two-year project began in January 2020. It builds on the previous project “Policy and Law for Nuclear Safety and Security”, which involved collaboration between ESI and NUS’s Centre for International Law and ended in June 2019.

Dr. Philip Andrews-Speed, Senior Principal Fellow at ESI, is the principal investigator for the project. 

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