Singapore and Malaysia
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 published factor for 2024 is 0.402 kg CO2e/kWh. Peninsular Malaysia’s for the same year 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 2024.
| Grid | Published factor (kg CO2e/kWh) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 0.412 (2023) · 0.402 (2024) | 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 checked 27 September 2026