TR EMERITUS

“Lao Lan, we have a problem.” Without looking up from his mobile, Lao Lan mutters, “What?” “The EU is going to implement CBAM.” Lao Lan doesn’t seem interested, “Is it some kind of continental ballistic missile?” KY rolls his eyes, “No, you idiot! It’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.” “Carbon what!?” KY is glad to have gotten Lao Lan’s attention. He takes a deep breath, “The EU is going to impose a tax on all imports from countries with carbon tax lower than theirs.” “Whatever for?” Lao Lan ask. “Because they can. They have green alternatives like hydro, wind, bio-mass, geo-thermal, nuclear and what-not.” “And?” Lao Lan is now all ears. “They can impose a high carbon tax in their jurisdiction and their businesses and people can cope by switching to green alternatives,” explains KY. “Good for them, but why impose a tax on all imports?” KY continues, “They think it’s only fair and a good example for the world to follow to save the Earth. Besides, they don’t want their factories shifting to countries with lower carbon tax.” “Will we be affected?” Lao Lan asks. “Of course! Of all the ASEAN countries, we are their biggest trading partner and our carbon tax is a fraction of theirs! Our exports will face very high tariffs unless we impose a very high carbon tax ourselves.” Lao Lan is perturbed, “Ok…..I will tell the boss.” Later, in the boss’s office. “Boss, we need to ram up carbon tax, big time.” The boss looks visibly tired. “Why?” Lao Lan clears his throat, “The Europeans have passed a law to impose a carbon tariff on imports. It will kick in around 2026.” The boss frowns, “Go on” “Exporters here will have to pay the difference in carbon tax between our country and the EU, making our exports less competitive,” Lao Lan explains. The boss goes straight to the point. “What’s the carbon tax rate currently?” “Ours is $5 a ton and theirs is more than a $100!” “Which sectors will be affected?” “For starters, those in the high carbon emission ones like iron and steel, cement, aluminum, fertilizer, glass, paper, heavy chemicals and energy production. They are also looking at downstream products in the future.” The boss looks out the window. It doesn’t take him long to make a decision, “Ok, increase our carbon tax. Match their rate ASAP. Announce it at the budget but make it sound like we are doing our part to fight climate change.” “But boss, will businesses be able to cope with the sudden increase?” “You can always creatively rebate the tax to trade-exposed businesses right, especially those exporting to the EU?” Lao Lan nods, “Sure thing boss. What about businesses selling locally?” “Let them decide, but I suppose the bigger ones will pass the tax to the consumers.” “Won’t the people protest?”, Lao Lan asks timidly. The boss looks at Lao Lan, “We have prepared the ground for climate change quite a while now, carbon tax is a natural extension. No one will openly protest lest they be labeled socially irresponsible.” At the budget announcement, Lao Lan boldly declares that we are very committed to doing our part in the global movement to tackle climate change. As such, we will raise our ambition to achieve net zero emissions by or around mid-century rather than the later half of the century, and will push decisively to raise carbon tax in the next few years, reaching $50 to $80 per ton by 2030 from the current $5 per ton. He clarifies that the government does not expect to derive additional revenue from the increase in the carbon tax. Some of the revenue will be used to cushion the impact on households and businesses. A large part will be used to support a decisive shift towards decarbonisation through investments in new low-carbon and more energy efficient solutions. This story, of course, is a figment of my imagination, but it is based on actual events including the announcement of CBAM by the EU in July 2021 and our government’s rather abrupt push to raise carbon tax aggressively. Readers can decide for themselves if the government is more concerned about mitigating the EU carbon tariff or fighting climate change. They can also decide if the government is again helping big business at the expense of the people.   Foong Swee Fong * This is an earlier post made some months ago but it is still relevant in today's context.    Read More →

Don’t you think that we are living under a government that does not even care about the welfare of people? Although we are moving towards a car lite society, motorcycles do not cost much congestion or pollution. Why are we restricting them so much when they are necessity for so many people? Many people whom I know who ride motorcycles do so because they need to make a living, such as courrier services, Grab, Deliveroo or Foodpanda food delivery riders. They do not make much to begin with, and yet they have to grapple with sky high COE prices! For a minister who makes millions, $10,000 may be a drop in the ocean for them, but to a food delivery rider struggling to pay bills, this is an amount that could break them! What are these people going to do with their livelihoods, when COE hits ridiculous prices and when their current COE runs out? Where is our Swiss standard of living as promised? Are we not declining and becoming worse off under the PAP?   Prabu Ramachandran      Read More →

Me, Myself and I One of my weekend treats was to pick up a John Grisham novel called “Gray Mountain,” which focuses on a young New York lawyer who gets retrenched from her big law firm and ends up working in the Appalachian Hills. Although I’ve only started the first few chapters but the book has already painted a wonderful picture of how a former “real estate” lawyer dealing with billionaire property developers suddenly discovering people who have no jobs and domestic violence is a way of life. This fictional account of a Wall Street lawyer in Appalachian country underlines the fact that America isn’t a single country but many countries, where people from different parts of the country have totally different experiences from other people in the same country. This is also not unique to America. Here in Asia, there are plenty of examples of countries that are in fact many countries. Like in America, the difference is largely centred on the urban-rural divide. For example, when everyone talks about the Chinese economy and the great wealth in China, they are thinking about the shinning metropolitan centres of Shanghai and Shenzhen. What nobody thinks of is the rural areas where people have been so busy worrying about getting flour to make soup to bother knowing about what goes on outside their village. Being a multitude of places isn’t limited to large countries like the USA or China. Even small places like Hong Kong and Singapore are many countries as opposed to being one unified block. If anything, the difference between the various communities in small places like Hong Kong and Singapore appear more pronounced than they are in large places. A Wall Street banker will most likely never have to look at someone from the Appalachian hills in the course of their daily lives. Here in my work place in the centre of Singapore’s financial district, you have the slick residents of condo-land walking past the aunty from one-room HDB heartland trying to sell them tissue paper just to pay her utility bill. Countries like people, want to show the world their best side to the world and wanting to “gloss over” certain realities is understandable. It becomes even more pronounced of places what need the outside world and governments in such places go through great lengths to “gloss up” their image. My stepfather, once made a point that he would only fly airlines of small but wealthy countries because the national carrier in such places were extensions of national pride. Airlines like SIA, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Qatar consistently rank among the world’s best because they are part of their native lands that governments want the world to see. In the case of Singapore, everyone gets to see Shenton Way or the Marina Bay sands. These are iconic images and one they are very nice. I admit they are great to look at and very pleasant areas. One of my great after work pleasures is to walk from Shenton Way to the Marina Bay Sands casino and towards the bus home. However, as much as these places are nice, its important to remember that these places do not paint an accurate picture of what Singapore is. One of the most visible signs that Singapore isn’t just the glitziest place of Crazy Rich Asians comes in the form of the elderly cardboard box collectors. It is, without a doubt, easier to show off the Marina Bay Sands than it is the number of elderlies collecting cardboard boxes. I also get wealth-inequality. I spent my student days in London, where Daddy had a flat in Soho and I had friends who lived in South Kensington. Money wasn’t an issue most of the residents. However, there was inevitably an army of homeless people waiting for you to give your spare change. However, unlike what I saw in London, where the tramps were young and had probably taken a few bad turns with drugs, the ones in Singapore are inevitably old and they’re begging but doing physically demanding work for criminally low money. Nobody seems to talk about this group. If you read official news in Singapore, you are bound to think that Singapore of Crazy Rich Asians is the only Singapore. However, while we may all like to think that, this isn’t reality. I look at my work on Shenton Way and the box collectors and its not far fetched to think I may end up experiencing a different Singapore in my old age. We need an honest conversation about what is Singapore. Like it or not, the one-room flat dwellers are as much a part of Singapore as those on the top of Marina Bay sands The conversation should move from how to do we get more people on top of Marina Bay Sands to ensuring that Singaporeans, particularly the elderly ones don’t need to collect cardboard boxes in their twilight years. We do so much to create an image but that image can only be sustained if people feel some reality of that image.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.    Read More →