VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEW BY MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRNOMENT AND WATER RESOURCES OF SINGAPORE, MRMASAGOSZULKIFLI, AT THE HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, 18 JULY 2018
Format 15-minute presentation
SLIDE!-COVER SLIDE
1. Mr President, Excellencies and distinguished delegates, Singapore is a small island developing state (SIDS), with no
natural resources. We are a highly urbanised and densely
populated city. In many ways, our circumstances are unique.
But the challenges we face are common to many other SIDS.
SLIDE 2 - MR LEE KUAN YEW^S PHILOSOPHY
2. Singapore pursued sustainable development even before the
term became fashionable. Since independence, we have
tried balancing environmental considerations with economic
development, believing that the two are complementary, not
contradictory.
Page 1 of 13 3. With the focus on improving our people's lives, the Government has built a clean and green Singapore, where our people can lead healthy and fulfilling lives, with good jobs, good education and adequate shelter for everyone. For a multi-racial and multi religious country like Singapore, the heart ofsustainable development lies in social inclusion.
4. Our first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, is the architect of Singapore's transformation. He focused on creating a "garden city". Today, we are building on his legacy and transforming Singapore into a "City in a Garden".
Siilbfei - APPROACH TOSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
5. Singapore's approach to sustainable development has three elements: First, balancing economic development with
environmental protection and social inclusion; Second. pursuing a long-term, integrated approach to policy planning and implementation; and Third, building collaborative multi- stakeholder partnerships to support policy formulation and
implementation.
Page 2 of 13 6. For Singapore, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) is a framework to benchmark government policies. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are integrated into the Government's long-term agenda. This was articulated by our President Halimah Yacob at the
opening of our Parliament in May.
7. We had used the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process to increase public engagement and awareness of 2030 Agenda,
and mobilised more than 30 ministries and agencies to prepare our VNR. Let me now touch on Singapore's progress
in implementing the 6 SDGs in focus.
SLIDE 4- CLOSING THE WATER LOOP (FOUR NATIONAL TAPS)
8. The World Resources Institute ranks Singapore as the country
most at risk ofwater stress by 2040. To ensure water
resilience and sustainability, we have developed a robust and diversified water supply system called our Four National Taps - imported water, water from local catchments, desalinated water and recycling of wastewater (NEWater).
Page 3 of 13 Over the years, we have enhanced our water sustainability by closing the water loop and collaborating with the private sector to develop and deploy new technologies.
SLIDE 5 - WASTEWATER SUPERHIGHWAY
9. Our national water recycling system collects and treats every
drop of wastewater and transforms it into NEWater -
Singapore's ultra-clean, high-grade reclaimed water. We have built a wastewater superhighway, the Deep Tunnel
Sewerage System, to collect and transport wastewater. The
current tunnel, 48km long and linked to 60km ofsewers, will be extended by 100km by 2025 to transport and turn more
wastewater into NEWater for industrial use and domestic
consumption.
SLIDE 6- RE-USING WATER ENDLESSLY
10. By reusing water endlessly, NEWater cushions our water supply against dry weather, enhancing Singapore's water sustainability and resilience to shifting climatic patterns.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called it the "elixir of life" when he visited Singapore in 2012.
Page 4 of13 SLIDE 7-ABC WATERS
11. Besides providing clean drinking water, we want to bring Singaporeans close to water so they become stewards of
water and our environment. Through the Active, Beautiful,
and Clean (ABC Waters) programme, we are transforming Singapore's drains, canals and reservoirs into streams, rivers
and lakes. This enriches our biodiversity and enhances our urban landscape with spaces for recreation and social
bonding. This is our Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park project, which
used to be an old concrete canal. It is now a place where
families gather and children play. We will implement 100
ABC Waters projects by 2030.
SLIDE 8 - REDUCING EMISSIONS ACROSS ALL SECTORS
12. As a member ofthe Alliance ofSmall Island States (AOSIS), Singapore has been a strong advocate of ambitious action against climate change. We pledged at the Paris Conference to reduce our emissions intensity by 36% from 2005 levels by
2030, and to stabilise our emissions with the aim of peaking
around the same time.
Page 5 of 13 We will be one ofthe first Asian nations to implement a national carbon tax across all sectors without any exemption
from 2019. This will Incentivise emissions reduction and
encourage companies to transit to a low-carbon future. Under our Climate Action Plan, we will increase energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint across all
economic sectors.
SLIDE 9- INVESTING IN CLEAN ENERGY
13. Today, 95% of our electricity Is generated from natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel. We are also aggressively developing solar energy. Our goal is to Increase solar photovoltaic deployment to 350 megawatt-peak by 2020, and to 1 gigawatt-peak beyond 2020. We have installed solar panels on the rooftops of public housing blocks and launched the world's largest floating solar PV test-bed. We are investing in breakthrough technologies, such as developing solar panels for integration into the building facade.
Page 6 of13 SLIDE 10 - THRIVING ECOSYSTEM AT SEMAKAU. AN ISLAND CREATED FROM ASH
14. As a resource-constrained nation, Singapore's vision is to
close the waste loop, just as we have closed the water loop. By practising the 3Rs: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle, we aim to
minimise waste and engage in urban mining by extracting
valuable resources from waste.
15. Semakau is Singapore's last landfill. The thriving flora and fauna, such as this mangrove swamp, shows the ecosystem
has been well-protected. Marine life and migratory birds are also making this island their home. New Scientist magazine
dubbed the landfill "Garbage of Eden".
SLIDE 11 - CLOSING THE WASTE LOOP (FOOD WASTE)
16. We are tackling food waste as a priority. We have installed
food waste digesters in schools, hotels, shopping malls and
food centres to treat food waste on-site, turning them into
fertiliser and non-potable water. We are piloting district-
level food waste treatment, where food waste is collected
and co-digested with used water sludge to produce biogas.
Page 7 of13 SLIDE 12 - CLOSING THE WASTE LOOP (E-WASTE)
17. Sustainable consumption and production require all stakeholders to participate. To develop a circular economy,
Singapore will introduce the Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) framework. Businesses will be
responsible for their products at the end-of-life, ensuring their proper recycling and disposal. We will start by
implementing the EPR framework for electronic waste and
consider extending it to other waste streams, such as
packaging.
SLIDE 13 - WASTE-ENERGY-WATER NEXUS: HARNESSING SYNERGIES
18. A first in the world, Tuas Nexus will be the hallmark of our efforts to close the resource loops. It will undertake wastewater treatment and solid waste management, all on one site to harness synergies from the waste-energy-water nexus. It will use the latest technology in combustion to
maximise energy recovery. More than 200,000 tonnes of C02 emissions can be avoided annually, the equivalent of
taking 41,000 cars offthe road.
Page 8 of13 SLIDE 14- INTEGRATED. INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN PLANNING
19. To achieve a highly liveable, inclusive, and sustainable urban
environment, integrated long-term planning is key. We are
piloting enterprise districts, which bring together high-value industries with institutes of learning and a residential
community. We have a 5-year Masterplan to integrate
persons with disabilities into the workforce and society.
Punggol New Town is home to Singapore's first eco-precinct for green building technologies, and the Punggol Digital
District is built purposefully for the cybersecurity and digital
media industries.
SLIDE 15 - WELL-LOVED HAWKER CENTRES
20. Hawker centres are an integral part ofSingaporeans' daily
lives and are found across the island. Besides serving
affordable and delicious dishes, they are places where
Singaporeans, regardless of race, religion and social
background, connect through our shared love for food.
Page 9 of 13 SLIDE 16 & 17 - CONSERVING OUR BIODIVERSITY
21. Globally, Singapore ranks first in urban tree density. Green cover has increased to more than 40% since our Tree Planting Campaign started in 1963 and will expand as building developers are incentivised to integrate vertical greenery. Besides beautifying the city, these measures cool the urban microclimate and provide refuge for biodiversity.
22. We have conserved primary and secondary rainforest right in the heart of our city. The Singapore Botanic Gardens is the first and only tropical botanic garden on UNESCO's World
Heritage List. Scientists have made exciting discoveries - finding new species or rediscovering species thought lost.
Today, Singapore has over 40,000 kinds of terrestrial and
marine organisms, such as these otters which have starred in a David Attenborough documentary about Singapore's wildlife. To evaluate and track the progress of our conservation efforts, Singapore has developed the City Biodiversity Index. This self-assessment tool is shared with other cities to help them measure their biodiversity
conservation efforts.
Page 10 of13 SLIDE18 - PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
23. Sustainable development In Singapore is a Whole-of-Nation
effort based on collaborative multi-stakeholder partnerships.
We declared 2018 as the Year of Climate Action to raise
awareness and encourage action across the nation. In 6
months, close to a quarter of million [To be updated on presentation day] Singaporeans, business corporations and
Civil Society Organisations have pledged to save energy and water, practise recycling and fight climate change. On the podium with me today are representatives from the Singapore Environment Council and Sustainable Living Lab, which play critical roles in galvanising ground-up action.
24. Also present today is the youth winner of the video competition on creative ideas for sustainability which we
organised as part of our VNR. Youths are leaders and
champions of sustainable development.
Page 11 of 13 SLIDE 19 - INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
25. Partnerships are key to sustainablllty. For a decade, Singapore has been hosting the World Cities Summit,
Singapore International Water Week and Clean-Enviro
Summit Singapore to share and co-create solutions for urban
sustalnability. The most recent edition was held last week, attracting about 20,000 attendees from over 100 nations.
26. Last week, as Chair of ASEAN, Singapore also convened the Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (SAMCA) and an expanded meeting for ASEAN Ministers and
key partners to reaffirm our commitment to the Paris
Agreement and galvanise regional action to tackle climate
change.
27. Singapore has been sharing our development experience with fellow developing countries through the Singapore
Cooperation Programme and since 1992, we have trained almost 120,000 officials. During the UN's Sustainable
Development Summit In 2015, we launched a Sustainable Development Programme to help countries build capacity to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Page 12 of13 I announced at the SAMCA meeting in Singapore last week, a special Climate Action Package to develop capacity in the
region in this key area.
28. We are also partnering other countries. The Tianjin Eco-city is a government-to-government project between Singapore
and China, which transformed what was once a barren saline
wasteland to a low-carbon and vibrant smart city.
Slide 20 - Concluding slide
29. In conclusion, sustainable development means providing for the needs of the present without compromising the interests offuture generations. A Chinese proverb says that "one generation plants the trees and the next generation enjoys the shade". Beyond harvesting for ourselves, we must plant seeds and grow trees. Empower our youths to take climate action to ensure our planet's sustainability and resilience. Together, let's work towards the shared goals of the 2030
Agenda.
Thank you.
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