Singapore must reassess its energy infrastructure to achieve an electrification goal slated for discussion at the upcoming COP31 climate summit, according to the country's environment minister.

Organizers of the United Nations climate conference, which is being held in Antalya, Turkey, over the next two weeks, aim for nations party to the Paris Agreement to commit to raising the global proportion of final energy demand supplied by electricity to 35% by 2035, up from roughly 20% at present.

Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, described the target as "workable and pragmatic" and stated that the government would back it "where we can."

"It will require us to really look at electrification infrastructure a lot harder," she remarked during a briefing with reporters in Singapore. "We have our share of energy-intensive sectors that are not easily decarbonized. So having a target makes us look more seriously at our work stream."

Roughly 30% of Singapore's final energy consumption is already fulfilled through electrification, with 92% of that electricity generated from natural gas. Nevertheless, advancement in recent years has been sluggish.

Singapore's substantial refining, petrochemical, and chemical manufacturing industries mean that petroleum products represent the majority of its energy sources. Although lower-carbon solutions are in development, such as solar power generation and imports, renewable energy credits, and biomethane, "none of them are at the scale that we need," Fu noted.

Chris Bowen, Australia's climate change and energy minister, who is heading the negotiations, aims to incorporate electrification into the final decision text of this year's summit. Other major parties, including the European Union and China, have indicated support for prioritizing electrification, but some climate advocates are urging a more precise goal to expand green power.

At COP31, Singapore is expected to unveil fundraising efforts for so-called blended finance and carbon credit projects, and it will participate in negotiations on strategies to make communities and energy infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather events. The nation recently endured weeks of thick haze pollution caused by wildfires in Indonesia, which were intensified by a strong El Niño weather pattern.

Fu stated she was not "expecting major upgrade in mitigation targets," adding that politicians are preoccupied with the strain on fiscal resources, fuel prices, and the rising cost of living resulting from the Middle East crisis and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.