Singapore Green Plan 2030 aims to make living in Singapore much greener

Singapore looks set to be a much greener country by 2030, with plenty of sustainability initiatives to be introduced in the coming years to change the way we live. 

The Singapore Green Plan 2030, a “whole-of-nation movement” to advance the national agenda on sustainable development, was unveiled by five ministries on Wednesday (Feb 10).

The Green Plan “will strengthen Singapore’s economic, climate and resource resilience, improve the living environment of Singaporeans and bring new business and job opportunities,” the ministries said. 

“It will influence all aspects of our lives, from how we live to how we work and play, as we work together as a nation to make Singapore a greener and more liveable home,” said the Ministries of Education, National Development, Sustainability and the Environment, Trade and Industry, and Transport.

The Green Plan has five key pillars:

1. City in Nature: to create a green, liveable and sustainable home for Singaporeans;
2. Sustainable Living: to make reducing carbon emissions, keeping our environment clean, and saving resources and energy a way of life in Singapore;
3. Energy Reset: to use cleaner energy and increase our energy efficiency to lower our carbon footprint;
4. Green Economy: to seek green growth opportunities to create new jobs, transform our industries, and harness sustainability as a competitive advantage; and
5. Resilient Future: to build up Singapore’s climate resilience and enhance our food security.

Some of the targets set forth in the Green Plan include having an additional 1,000 hectares of green spaces in Singapore by 2035, while every household will be within a 10-minute walk from a nature park. 

At least 20 per cent of schools will be carbon neutral by 2030, while programmes will be introduced in school to instil a responsible and sustainability-conscious mindset and habits in students. 

Citizens will be encouraged to commute in a greener way. Cycling paths will triple in length by 2030 to 1,320km, up from 460km today, while rail network will be expanded from 230km to 360km.

There will also be an effort to raise the sustainability standards of buildings in the city, while energy consumption in existing HDB towns will be reduced by 15 per cent.

More details of the Green Plan will be released at the Budget 2021 next week and the Committee of Supply Debate in Parliament.

More information can also be found at the Green Plan website here.