of a whole - of - society effort across countries will suffice. and the time for action is now, not tomorrow. yes, we wish we can postpone carbon taxes, costly investments in energy efficiency, restructuring of business processes, mandatory reporting of climate risks, until economic conditions are better. but the planet cannot wait, it is continuing to warm up. the cost of delay is having to make sharper and more painful adjustments later amid a worsening climate. the road to net zero is not easy. but we have seen time and again that when confronted with grave challenges, humankind has risen to the challenge. the recent covid - 19 pandemic is a good example. yes, the world ’ s response was not optimal, and not everyone played their part. but by and large, governments put in place the necessary measures to save both lives and livelihoods ; scientists and industry came together to produce vaccines in record time ; 8 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches businesses adapted and changed to continue providing goods and services ; and people around the world took the necessary precautions, adjusted to new ways of living and working, made sacrifices, and helped one another out. with that same spirit, difficult as it may be, the world will get to net zero and avert climate disaster. it will be a better world, and a better singapore. 9 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches

this is no mean task – it implies by 2030 installing every day the generation capacity of what is currently the world ’ s biggest solar farm. third, hydrogen will be an important new hope for decarbonisation. this involves using renewable energy to split water molecules to produce both hydrogen and oxygen. the hydrogen can be burnt as a fuel emitting only water vapour or be put into a fuel cell to make electricity on demand. it can also be used as a feedstock to make more energy - dense compounds such as ammonia, which can serve as a fuel itself. hydrogen and ammonia can be critical to the transition to a net - zero world given their potential role in decarbonising hard - to - electrify sectors, such as steel production ; fuelling trucks, ships, and other heavy vehicles. all of this is technologically possible but making it economically efficient will require further innovation. in singapore, our aim is to progressively decarbonise the power sector. we do not have the land for large solar or wind farms or fast flowing rivers for hydro - electric power. but it helps that singapore is already less carbon - intensive in power generation than many other countries that still use coal. we are working to increase the carbon efficiency of natural gas which today accounts for 95 % of electricity generation and is likely to remain the dominant energy source for some time. we are accelerating solar deployment across the island and building viable energy storage systems. using our reservoirs, we are opening one of the world ’ s largest floating solar energy systems. we are using transmission lines linked to neighbouring countries to import the renewable energy they produce. singapore has already started importing from laos energy from hydroelectric power. we are exploring geothermal and biomethane technologies as well as small modular reactors using nuclear fission. green economy the third imperative for the net zero transition is to green the economy. greening the existing economy is more important than growing new green sectors. investing in green technologies and renewable energy is important. but such pure green activities are estimated to make up less than 8 % of the global economy. non - green activities – in manufacturing, building and construction, aviation, maritime, agriculture and fisheries - make up the bulk of any economy. to move the needle on emissions reduction, we need transition strategies that progressively reduce the carbon footprint across all sectors. let me highlight six challenges associated with greening the global economy. first, a green economy will rely much more on electricity. the cheapest and easiest way to