GREEN EFFORT IN SINGAPORE

GREEN EFFORT IN SINGAPORE:

(Action plan): 6.

Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what action plan his

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Ministry intends to adopt to step up the "green effort" in Singapore; and (b) what new or additional incentives will be introduced to encourage the business community to play an even greater role in achieving the targets set out in the plan.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, last year, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development launched the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, which is a comprehensive plan to ensure Singapore's sustainable development.

The Blueprint aims to improve resource efficiency, enhance our environment, build capabilities and foster an environmentally-responsible community in Singapore. It sets out targets for 2020 and 2030 in areas such as energy efficiency, water consumption, recycling as well as air quality, greenery and blue spaces to guide our progress in these areas.

We will adopt a multi-pronged approach to achieve these goals. As part of public education to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable development and how businesses and the community can do their part, we are providing information on resource use, for instance, through energy and water labelling schemes, so that firms and consumers can make better purchasing decisions. We will continue to adopt appropriate fiscal measures to discourage over-consumption and to promote the adoption of more resource efficient designs and processes.

Sir, we also set minimum standards and mandate best practices to ensure that resource efficiency improvements are sustained over time, while investing in innovation and technology to develop new solutions that address current and future constraints.

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Sir, as these new initiatives under the Blueprint are implemented over the next few years, we will have a better idea of how effective the strategies and measures are in achieving the targets set out in the Blueprint. This will enable us to fine-tune our approach, in consultation with our key stakeholders, by introducing new initiatives or ramping up existing ones if necessary.