First Singapore Green Bond Report published: $700 million of green bond proceeds allocated to Jurong Region Line (JRL) and Cross Island Line (CRL) in Financial Year 2022
21 Sep 2023When fully operational, JRL and CRL are expected to bring about carbon savings equivalent to taking 22,000 cars off Singapore’s road
The Ministry of Finance today published the first edition of the Singapore Green Bond Report. The report provides timely disclosure on the use of proceeds of green bonds issued under the Singapore Green Bond Framework [1]. It details the allocation and expected environmental impact of Singapore’s sovereign green bond for the Financial Year (FY) 2022. A limited assurance engagement has been undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in respect of the allocation of proceeds as at 31 March 2023.2. Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and National Development and Chair of the Green Bond Steering Committee said that: “The Government is committed to a credible, high-quality framework for green bond issuance, and reporting is a key part of this endeavour. The first edition of the Singapore Green Bond Report accounts for how the Government allocated the proceeds of the inaugural S$2.4 billion Green SGS (Infrastructure) bond and the expected environmental impact this will make.”
Allocation Report
3. The Singapore Government issued its inaugural S$2.4 billion sovereign green bond, Green SGS (Infrastructure) bond, in August 2022. As at 31 March 2023, 30% of the green bond proceeds (i.e. S$0.7 billion) have been allocated to finance capital expenditure of the Jurong Region Line (JRL) and Cross Island Line (CRL) [2]. The remaining unallocated proceeds are expected to be fully allocated to the JRL and CRL by the end of FY2024.
4. The expansion of Singapore’s electric rail network will enhance connectivity and encourage more commuters to take mass public transport which, together with walking and cycling, is the greenest way to commute. The development of JRL and CRL supports the “Sustainable Living” pillar of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which targets to achieve 75% mass public transport (i.e. rail and bus) modal share. This is a key enabler to achieve the ambitious goal of significantly reducing land transport emissions in absolute terms, in alignment with Singapore’s net zero target by 2050.
Impact Report
5. The Ministry of Finance commissioned Morningstar Sustainalytics, an ESG research, ratings and analytics firm, to quantify the impact arising from investment of our green bond proceeds. When fully operational, the JRL and CRL are estimated to result in total carbon savings of between 100,000 and 120,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent annually.
6. This is equivalent to taking 22,000 cars off Singapore’s road, and represents an estimated emissions reduction of 81% compared to the baseline scenario [3]. The allocation of green bond proceeds to the JRL and CRL during FY2022 is expected to have a financed impact [4] of between 1,200 and 1,800 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions avoided annually.
Looking Ahead
7. The full Singapore Green Bond Report can be found at https://go.gov.sg/greenbonds.
8. The Ministry of Finance will continue to provide annual reporting on the allocation and impact of Green SGS (Infrastructure) bonds in accordance with the Singapore Green Bond Framework, until full allocation and in case of material changes.
Issued by:
Ministry of Finance
Singapore
21 September 2023
[1] Singapore Green Bond Framework, Ministry of Finance, 2022.
[2] The JRL and CRL projects qualify for borrowings under the Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Act 2021, and meet eligibility criteria for the “Clean Transportation” Use of Proceeds category under the Singapore Green Bond Framework.
[3] Project emissions avoided refers to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions between a baseline scenario in which the JRL and CRL do not exist, compared to the project scenario in which the JRL and CRL become operational and displace a mix of existing and future transportations along the same travel distance.
[4] Financed emissions avoided is derived by pro-rating the estimated total project emissions avoided based on the share of green bond financing (i.e. green bond allocated as a proportion of the total project costs). Financed emissions avoided would increase correspondingly in future years as the share of green bonds allocated to the projects increase. The disclosure of financed impacts provides investors with transparency over the impact attributable to the green bond allocation.