1.                  The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD), set up in February 2008, has articulated its vision for Singapore’s sustainable development in the next 10 to 15 years, and invited the public to offer their views on key priority areas for study.

2          Said Minister for National Development, Mah Bow Tan, “Our vision is for Singapore to be a lively yet live-able home, with a vibrant economy and high quality living environment. Today many of us are concerned about higher fuel prices and ever-increasing demand for resources. While we must tackle these important issues, the uncertainties remind us that we cannot just look at our present needs, but should think ahead to secure our future. Singapore is our home, not just for the current but also future generations.  By planning now for Singapore’s sustainable development in the next 10 to 15 years, we ensure two key things. First, we can be more efficient in using resources to grow our economy and stay competitive. Second, we can ensure that, even as our population grows, all of us continue to enjoy clean air and clean water in an attractive, quality living environment.” 

3          Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim noted that climate change concerns have further highlighted the importance of pursuing an environmentally sustainable path to growth and development.  He said, “We should play our part in reducing carbon emissions that lead to global warming. If Singapore can address energy conservation and efficiency with the same resolve as we have done in water management, it will not only enable our economy to be more competitive, but will add to our contribution to mitigating climate change.”  He added that the Committee will look into making both new and existing buildings more energy and resource efficient. Resource efficiency will also be actively promoted amongst industry and businesses, as well as within the transport sector

4          This area of resource efficiency is one of three priorities identified by the IMCSD following a series of dialogue sessions with representatives from the private and people sectors. There was broad agreement that the effective management of scarce resources such as water, energy, and land will become even more important with rising resource costs worldwide. The second area is pollution control to maintain good air and water quality in Singapore that will support our larger population and take into account economic needs. The third area is improving the quality of the physical environment to ensure that Singapore continues to be a clean, green and attractive city, with green and blue spaces for all to enjoy. The attached document in Appendix I provides more details on the IMCSD’s work and the areas being studied.

5          In addressing these priority areas, efforts will also be required on two supporting fronts – encouraging people and industries to adopt practices which are sustainable in the long term, and developing new capabilities and  technologies which optimize resources and improve environmental performance. Singapore can develop in a sustainable manner only if lifestyles and habits change. New technologies will also have to be harnessed to improve performance and overcome current limits to growth.

6          Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, S Iswaran noted, “It is important for us to push for resource efficiency as an extension of our productivity movement, as this will directly determine how cost competitive we can be in a resource constrained future. Having a clean, green and healthy environment will also help Singapore to attract talent and investments.” Minister for Transport, Raymond Lim said that “Public transport, is, by far, the most efficient mode of transport, both in terms of land and energy usage. Therefore, a key strategy is to encourage a modal shift from private to public transport. This is the reason why the government will be investing heavily in our public transport infrastructure, to the tune of some $40 billion over the next 12 years. Our aim is to make public transport an attractive and choice mode, to encourage a decisive shift to greater public transport usage, even for those who can well afford cars. This strategy will ensure sustainability, a quality living environment, and a more fuel efficient transport system as a whole.”

7          The Committee highlights that measures to enhance sustainability such as improving resource efficiency should result in cost-savings to businesses and individuals. Some measures could mean additional costs in the short term to reap longer term benefits for individuals and businesses.  The IMCSD will take into consideration the current environment of rising costs in studying recommendations. Minister for Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam assured  that the IMCSD will take a bold but practical  approach. “The IMCSD will be pragmatic and result-oriented.  It will assess the effectiveness and benefits of the various options against their costs to businesses and consumers. We will set meaningful goals but pace the changes so that everyone can adjust smoothly.”

8          Since its establishment in February 2008, the IMCSD has held dialogue sessions with people and private sector representatives and conducted various inter-ministry deliberations. The IMCSD is now launching a website, http://www.sustainablesingapore.gov.sg, to solicit public feedback and suggestions on the key priority areas for review. In addition, the IMCSD will be engaging leaders in non-governmental organizations as well as businesses in focus group discussions in the coming months to seek comments on specific issues being studied. The feedback and recommendations received will be factored into the IMCSD’s deliberations before it releases its report next year.  This report will serve as a blueprint for Singapore to achieve its vision as a lively and liveable city.

9          Said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, “A sustainable Singapore has to be built jointly by the government with the people and private sectors. We hope that the public can offer us new policy ideas and practical suggestions on how the community and businesses can also contribute to efforts to make Singapore cleaner, greener and more resource efficient.”

10        The IMCSD is co-chaired by Minister for National Development Mr Mah Bow Tan, and Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim and includes Minister for Finance Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Transport Mr Raymond Lim, and Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry Mr S Iswaran as members.

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Appendix I: Background on IMCSD’s Work

1.                  Over the past 40 years, good economic growth has improved our standard of living.  At the same time, we have focused our effort on building a garden city, with good urban planning and pollution control as key considerations. Today, we live in a clean city with high standards of public health. We breathe clean air and are able to commute efficiently.  We enjoy access to well planned parks and nature reserves.  Our clean water bodies provide us reliable water supply as well as opportunities for sports and recreation.

2.                  Maintaining what we have achieved and making further improvements will be challenging. On the domestic front, greater economic and population growth will strain our living environment as well as our scarce land, water and energy resources. On the global front, rising fuel costs and higher demand for resources present uncertainties for the international economy, which will impact on Singapore’s small and open economy.  Climate change further compounds the challenges as it requires early action by all countries to reduce carbon emissions, which cause global warming.  It is a global problem which must be dealt with by the collective efforts of the international community, in a manner that does not unduly penalize the economic needs of individual countries.  As a responsible member of the international community, Singapore would want to play our part in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. We would also wish to sustain economic growth and maintain our quality of life. By being more efficient in the way we use resources, Singapore would be contributing towards reducing carbon emissions while positioning ourselves well for a more carbon-constrained world that may emerge if ongoing negotiations on climate change result in a post-2012 global agreement.

Vision for Singapore: Lively and Liveable Global City

3.                  Sustainable development for Singapore means being able to support future economic and population growth while maintaining a quality living environment that is clean, green and healthy.  The vision for Singapore is to be a lively and liveable global city – a city that is distinctive in its ability to offer a unique combination of economic opportunity, vibrant lifestyle and quality environment, providing a good home for current and future generations of Singaporeans.  It would also be a city that continues to be attractive to the foreign talent and investments which help us to grow the economy and high-value jobs. 

Overall Approach

4.                  The IMCSD will take a strategic and long term perspective, based on the pragmatic and measured approach that has guided decision-making from the onset of Singapore’s development.  We have made significant investments in national infrastructure, environmental protection, water supply, transport and greenery, where the long term benefits justify the costs.

5.                   The IMCSD recognizes that the task is complex as trade-offs would continue to be necessary in some instances. The costs and benefits of proposed measures have to be carefully assessed and weighed with other options. We have thus far taken a market-oriented approach in pricing resources such as energy and water. Going forward, this remains important as subsidies can distort market signals which help consumers and industry better adjust to market conditions. The Committee will look into effective measures to overcome market failures that impede decisions that are cost-effective over the longer term for people and businesses.   Implementation will be carefully studied to ensure that regulatory changes that may be required are appropriately paced to minimize disruptive adjustments.

6          This blueprint for Singapore’s sustainability cannot be drawn up by the government alone.  The public, community groups and industry play an important and constructive role in providing ideas and feedback on the most effective and practical means to achieve the desired outcomes.  As such, the engagement of key stakeholders across the public, private and people sectors is a key feature of this exercise. 

Priority Areas

7          To achieve the vision and address the domestic and international challenges which are emerging, the IMCSD will focus its effort on three priority areas, namely - resource management, pollution control and the quality of the physical environment.  As a small city-state that imports most of its resource needs, Singapore cannot be truly self-sufficient. Achieving resource efficiency will be crucial to sustaining our future cost competitiveness and growth. As our economy continues to grow, different activities will be located in closer proximity and new efforts in pollution control will also be necessary to tackle all sources of pollution such as industry and transport. With our population density increasing, we need innovative measures to maintain cleanliness and enhance the physical environment of our city so that our people continue to have attractive spaces for leisure and social activities. This will ensure that growth does not come at the expense of our quality of life. 

8.         Concurrently, further efforts will be made on two supporting fronts –  encouraging people and businesses to adopt practices that are sustainable in the long term and developing new capabilities and technologies which optimize resources and improve environmental performance. As Singapore grows and becomes even more compact, fiscal measures alone will not be sufficient to ensure that we can sustain a high quality living environment. We also require a more sustainable community in Singapore that adopts environmentally responsible lifestyles and habits. At the same time, we will invest in new technologies that will help us achieve higher environmental performance and transcend current limits to growth.

9.         The IMCSD is actively studying a range of measures to make the way we live, work, play and commute more sustainable. 

The Way We Live and Play…

10.       The general feedback that the committee has received so far is that we should seek to make the existing stock of buildings more energy and resource efficient, as they form the bulk of our built environment. The IMCSD is studying additional measures to promote Green Mark adoption among existing buildings. It will also study ways to make public housing in Singapore even more sustainable in its design, construction and maintenance. To further distinguish Singapore as a City in a Garden, new areas such as skyrise greenery, and measures to better document and protect existing biodiversity are being studied too.

The Way We Work…

11.       Resource efficiency will be actively promoted among industry and businesses. The Committee will be engaging business and industry leaders to discuss measures to enhance resource efficiency within business operations, with a focus on energy and water efficiency. The committee is also studying measures that industries can adopt to further mitigate the impact on our environment in a cost-effective manner. A realistic approach will be adopted, taking into account international standards and global best practice, in charting new strategies to position Singapore globally as a hub for sustainable development solutions.

The Way We Commute…

12.       Efforts to encourage greater use of public transport contribute to sustainable development since public transport not only minimises land requirements but is also the most energy efficient mode of transport. This is consistent with the Land Transport Master Plan which MOT launched earlier this year. The Committee will further study means to promote public transport as a choice mode. It will also consider how to facilitate non-motorized means, such as cycling, as additional modes of transport for short distances for intra-town commute purposes. As with the built environment and the industry sector, the Committee will look into how to gear the transport sector toward greater fuel efficiency and cleaner vehicular emissions.

Public Consultation Process

13.       The IMCSD has launched a website www.sustainablesingapore.gov.sg to seek public feedback. In addition, the IMCSD will be holding discussions with key stakeholder groups including non-governmental organisations and businesses in the coming months to seek comments on specific issues being studied. The feedback and recommendations received will be factored into the IMCSD’s deliberations before it releases its report next year.