It's incredible to think that one of the factors behind the apparently slowing US economy is actually helping Singapore's economy at a time it really needs it: with electronics manufacturing still slowing, it's the booming oil sector which is coming to the rescue. This leads me to my favourite subject where oil prices, and petrol prices in Singapore are concerned: we are always so keen to be unique – when will we be the only country in the world that outlaws vehicles with conventional engines?

Ask any driver about petrol prices and they'll tell you they flinch all the way to the nearest MRT station every time they pay more than a hundred dollars for a tank of petrol. Not even the supposed "we added it on so we can offer a discount"-discount, or the pathetic "free gifts" offered by petrol stations are of any consolation. It's an irony that the factor that is causing so much pain at the pump is helping Singapore's economy at a time when we're dreading what's going to happen next year. According to a Reuters report, carried on the Business Times website, Keppel Corp and SembCorp Marine, two of the world's biggest oil rig makers, boosted Singapore's total manufacturing output growth to 5.8% in November, compared to October. But this was short of the 7% expected by economists, who get paid to get it right, thanks to the biggest fall in factory orders in a year, and a pharmaceutical sector that's apparently beset by the dubious problem that people all over the world are healthier (can this be right?). Here's the EDB release.

But back to petrol prices and Singapore. Can you imagine the phenomenal global reputation Singapore would achieve by doing what Australia proposed to do with incandescent light bulbs: outlawing conventional engines. According to a report by Lehman Brothers, Singaporeans consume more energy per capita than the United States, China, Australia and virtually every other country except Qatar (see page 96). To be frank, I don't quite understand how this is so, given that car ownership is proportionately low, we don't tend to drive long distances or at high speeds and while we generate a lot of electricity it's not like we all drive gas guzzling 4WDs. According to figures supplied by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (which, to its credit, has a strategy to, among others, promote the use of cleaner fuels and green vehicles), 2004 figures show cars made up 19% of emissions. But I guess it doesn't help that the Airbus A380 – the first of which was delivered to Singapore Airlines a few months ago – has a carbon footprint the size of bigfoot, many people spend a lot of money on air conditioning, not to mention the high number of completely underutilised Mercedes and BMWs cars that ply our roads.

Bottom line: we should reduce energy consumption, and converting everyone to hybrid or electric cars would be a fabulous step.

But here's why I think this idea will never take off:

1. Oil companies are big investors. We owe a lot to Shell and others who've invested billions in petrochemical plants on Jurong Island. Labrador Park near HarbourFront was once a site of a Shell facility, established decades ago. Unless we can position a move to hybrid or electric vehicles as showcasing their stated efforts to harness renewable energy sources, we are going to be seen as pretty thankless hosts.

2. Petrol taxes are a big revenue earner. Every litre of petrol carries fuel excise of 44 cents per litre, plus 7% GST, according to Shell. Do the maths. Can we forego this revenue?

3. Too many decision makers drive big cars. Fact is, until and unless the guys who are in a position to decide to move everyone to hybrid or electric cars stop driving big Mercs and Beemers, they're not going to promote a wholesale shift away from gas guzzlers. After all, would you outlaw the comfortable S-Class you drive to the office each day?

The odds are stacked against it. But still, a big shift away from conventional engines to hybrids or electric cars would be amazing for the global climate change discussion. It shouldn't worry us one bit that we would still be the world's biggest producer of oil rigs.


Mark Laudi

Labels: combustion engines, electric cars, excise, hybrid cars, MEWR, petrol taxes, Shell