Meeting between Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli and European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete, Brussels

JOINT PRESS RELEASE BY MEWR AND EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR CLIMATE ACTION AND ENERGY

Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Mr Masagos Zulkifli met European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Mr Miguel Arias Cañete at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium on Mon, 9 April 2018.

Relations between the European Union (EU) and Singapore are longstanding and warm. The EU-Singapore bilateral meeting served as an important opportunity for both parties to underscore their shared commitment to the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. In view of Singapore’s current Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and role as incoming country coordinator for ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations from August 2018, Mr Masagos and Mr Arias Cañete also discussed possible areas of collaboration between ASEAN and the EU on climate change issues, in support of the Paris Agreement.

Mr Masagos and Mr Arias Cañete had a substantive exchange of views on how the EU and Singapore could work together to take forward the ongoing discussions at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This included issues such as expectations for the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP-24), which will take place in Katowice, Poland on 3 to 14 December 2018, the 2018 Talanoa Dialogue, and the negotiations under the Paris Agreement Work Programme. Mr Masagos also shared with Mr Arias Cañete Singapore’s efforts to fulfill its commitment under the Paris Agreement, including various initiatives under the Year of Climate Action that Singapore has designated for 2018, and putting into effect a carbon tax to help achieve a low-carbon economy.

Mr Masagos and Mr Arias Cañete agreed on the need for COP-24 to conclude a durable, effective, and pragmatic set of rules for the Paris Agreement that facilitates implementation and improvement over time. In this regard, the Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (MOCA), which is co-organised by the EU, China, and Canada, the Petersburg Climate Dialogue hosted by Germany, and other dialogue platforms would help advance negotiations and facilitate a successful outcome at COP-24. Singapore looked forward to actively participating in and contributing to the MOCA process.

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources