Climate Action in SG (Jul 2019)

Climate Action in SG (Jul 2019)

A monthly e-newsletter on Singapore’s sustainable development and climate action efforts

Singapore investing S$10 million in National Sea Level Research Programme to enable more robust sea level rise projections in future

Singapore plans to further contribute to global understanding of climate change through a S$10 million National Sea Level Research Programme over the next five years. Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, announced this at the Ministry’s annual Partners for the Environment Forum on 17 July 2019. This year’s forum was co-organised with the British High Commission in Singapore.

In his keynote address, Minister Masagos Zulkifli spoke on the urgency for climate action, and how Singapore was preparing for climate change. For instance, the Government will spend another S$400 million in the next two years to boost flood resilience.

At the Forum, Dr Amy Khor, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, also gave out awards to 19 signatories of the Singapore Packaging Agreement (SPA), for their efforts in reducing packaging waste.

The SPA is a joint initiative by the Singapore government, industry and non-governmental organisations to reduce packaging waste. Since its launch in 2007, the 239 signatories of the SPA have collectively reduced 54,000 tonnes of packaging waste, which is equivalent to packaging material cost savings of about S$130 million.

Call to strengthen multilateral rules-based approach to address climate change

At the 3rd Ministerial on Climate Action convened by the EU, Canada and China in Brussels, Belgium on 28 June 2019, Minister Masagos Zulkifli highlighted the need for countries to strengthen the multilateral rules-based approach to address climate change. This entails: (i) Implementing the Paris Agreement; (ii) Completing the work on the Paris Agreement Work Programme; and (iii) Raising ambition through updated Nationally Determined Contributions and 2050 strategies.

Co-creating solutions for recycling with citizens

To build greater awareness of the challenges and trade-offs in sustainability issues, leverage the experience of the citizenry and involve them in decision- making, Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources will convene a Citizens’ Workgroup to co-create solutions with the Government to improve household recycling. The Workgroup, which will comprise 50 Singaporeans from diverse backgrounds, will meet from Sep – Oct 2019.

Smart Water Meter to be installed to empower users to take proactive steps to reduce water usage

PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, will install 300,000 smart water meters in new and existing residential, commercial and industrial premises by 2023. This will augment PUB’s capabilities in early leak detection, allow customers to access their daily water usage, and empower them to take proactive steps to manage or reduce their water usage. The Programme is a major step towards a smart utility, in support of Singapore’s Smart Nation effort.