Roadmap to make Singapore a leading eco-city
By Clarissa Oon
GO GREEN: Mr Mah said a government panel will look at green solutions in transport (such as compressed natural gas, above), housing and industry. — PHOTO: SEMBCORP
A GOVERNMENT panel will release a 10-year roadmap next year for Singapore to grow its economy in an environmentally sound way, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday.
This inter-ministerial committee aims to make Singapore the leading eco-city in Asia and will look at green solutions in transport, housing and industry, he added.
Mr Mah is co-chairing this recently formed committee on sustainable development, along with Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim.
Other members include Finance and Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Transport Minister Raymond Lim and Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran.
Sustainable development has become a global buzzword as countries try to develop their economies while minimising fallout on the environment.
While the term ’sustainable development’ began to catch on only from the late 1980s, Singapore had already adopted such principles from the start of nation building, said Mr Mah in Parliament.
This ”Singapore way’ of sustainable development’ was not out of choice but necessity, because of its small size and scarce resources.
Now, its strengths include integrated township planning and maximising land use, as well as breakthroughs in water and waste management. Still, Singapore can do better and create an even cleaner and better-quality living environment, he said.
However, Mr Mah stressed this would not be at the expense of economic growth. ‘We need to remind ourselves that sustainable development is still about development… We still want growth and we still want good jobs.’ Without economic growth, he said, there would not be enough resources to invest in renewable energy or implement cuts in energy consumption.
Renewable energy comes from sources such as the sun, wind and waves, as opposed to fossil fuels like coal and oil. Burning fossil fuels has been blamed for releasing harmful greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
Singapore has also formed another inter-ministerial panel on climate change, with which Mr Mah said his committee would work closely.
Mr Mah was earlier asked by Nominated MP Edwin Khew if more financial incentives would be offered to companies and individuals to encourage green practices. Mr Mah said he would not rule it out.
But it would be one of a slew of measures to address sustainable development, including public education, research and development, and possibly legislation.
This drive would also not be complete without partnerships with community and grassroots organisations, non-governmental organisations and other ground-up movements, he added.
At the end of the day, ’sustainable development is as much about changing lifestyles as it is about new technologies or green buildings’.
Apart from doing more at home, Singapore hopes to share with other cities its model of sustainable development, he added.
It has embarked on a project with China to create an eco-city in the northern port city of Tianjin.
Source : Straits Times - 29 Feb 2008
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