The Environment Minister of the Dominican Republic and the Trade and Industry Minister of Singapore have signed a memorandum for bilateral cooperation. The agreement seeks to stimulate the green economy and harmonize actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Environment Minister Miguel Ceara Hatton and the Minister of Trade and Industry of Singapore Gan Kim Yong signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on carbon credits on 27 June 2023. The countries reaffirmed the close economic ties between Singapore and the Dominican Republic share.
The MOU demonstrates both countries’ commitment to global climate action and will strengthen cooperation on carbon credits aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which allows countries to cooperate to achieve emissions targets set out in their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) while promoting sustainable development and high environmental integrity, states the announcement on the signing.
Minister Gan said: “Climate change is an existential challenge that requires effective collaborations across countries. This MOU between Singapore and the Dominican Republic , is the first step in our partnership on carbon credits, which will enable us to achieve our climate targets, grow our green economy and demonstrate that while we are both small island states, we can still do our part to address the climate challenge.”
The document signed by Miguel Ceara Hatton and Gan Kim Yong seeks to promote an increase in investment, create jobs in the green economy, facilitate technology collaboration and bring co-benefits and sustainable development to local communities.
During a virtual meeting, Ceara Hatton highlighted that the Sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report points out that island states share a high vulnerability to the effects of climate change, especially due to sea level rise and changes in rainfall and temperature patterns.
“This, in turn, increases our exposure to food insecurity, health problems and reduced water security,” he said.
The Dominican minister was accompanied during the meeting by Milagros de Camps, deputy minister for Climate Change, while Gan Kim Yong was accompanied by Industry Division director Fam Wee Wei, deputy director Dorothy Lee, senior assistant director Deanna Tan and assistant director Lydia Tang.
The agreement testifies to the commitment of both countries to join global climate action by boosting the development of their citizens hand in hand with sustainability.
“The Dominican Republic has developed plans and strategies to achieve our emission reduction goals, making significant progress in the energy and Agriculture, Foresty and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors, initiating the transformation of the country’s energy matrix, developing the National REDD+ Strategy and in addition, we have laid the foundation for our Measurement, Reporting and Verification System,” said Ceara Hatton.
He explained that the Dominican Republic is committed to implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), “identifying and adapting the mechanisms and actions according to our reality, capacities and unique characteristics.”
“Through this collaboration with Singapore, we are confident that we will gain knowledge and experience that will enable us to improve our mitigation strategies and promote sustainable development in our nation,” said Ceara Hatton.
He emphasized that humanity is at a critical point in terms of climate, so its decisions will have a profound impact on its present and future well-being. “Therefore, this cooperative approach helps guide, materialize and harmonize actions that allow us to mitigate the impacts of climate change and ensure the future of our children,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gan Kim Yong expressed that “climate change is an existential challenge that requires effective collaboration among countries.”
“As small island states, the MOU demonstrates the commitment of Singapore and the Dominican Republic to achieve our climate goals and do our part for global climate action,” he said.
“This is a first step between Singapore and the Dominican Republic on carbon credits, and will allow us to implement pilot projects that will increase investment, create jobs in the green economy, facilitate technology collaboration, and bring co-benefits and sustainable development to our two communities.”
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Ministry of Environment
Government of Singapore
29 June 2023