ESG by ZYT← All answersSingapore and Malaysia
Why can’t I use a Singapore emission factor for my Malaysian site?
Because the underlying infrastructure is different, not just the number. Singapore runs a gas-dominated grid and incinerates its waste; Peninsular Malaysia is coal-heavy and landfills. Applying one country’s factor to the other is not a rounding error — for waste it is the wrong model entirely, since landfill produces methane and incineration does not.
Grid electricity is the clearest case. Singapore’s grid factor is about 0.412 kg CO2e/kWh. Peninsular Malaysia’s published factor for 2024 is 0.740 — nearly double — because coal still carries much of the load. And Malaysia is not one grid: Sarawak, dominated by hydro, was 0.199 in the same year.
| Grid | 2024 factor (kg CO2e/kWh) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 0.412 (2023 vintage) | Gas-dominated |
| Peninsular Malaysia | 0.740 | Coal-heavy |
| Sabah | 0.539 | Gas and diesel |
| Sarawak | 0.199 | Hydro-dominated |
Waste is the more serious trap, because the difference is methodological. Singapore incinerates almost all non-recycled waste, so the emissions are combustion emissions arising immediately. Malaysia landfills, so the emissions are methane released over years, and depend on whether the site captures landfill gas. There is no correct way to convert one into the other by scaling.
Sources
- Grid Emission Factor (GEF) in Malaysia, 2022-2024 (Provisional) — Energy Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Tenaga). Checked 2026-09-04.
- Electricity Grid Emission Factors and Upstream Fugitive Methane Emission Factor — Energy Market Authority, Singapore. Checked 2026-09-04.
Related
Last reviewed 2026-09-04