Youths share support for raised climate ambitions through public consultation

Singapore will raise its climate ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as part of its long-term low emissions development strategy, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Oct 25).

The country will also “reduce emissions to around 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2030 after peaking emissions earlier” as part of its revised 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), he added.

The Government has since engaged more than 1,700 members of the public and key stakeholders on Singapore’s climate ambition, including a public consultation exercise via REACH in September 2022.

According to a joint press release by the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), respondents from these various engagements agreed with the need for Singapore to “increase its climate ambition given the urgent global need to take climate action”.

The findings also saw youths expressing support for Singapore’s raised climate ambitions, highlighting Public-Private partnerships and the Government’s support as the key to achieving the net zero goals.

The public consultation gathered 490 responses, of which 73 per cent were respondents aged 39 or below.

As the question of whether the 2030 NDC should be enhanced was optional, only 304 responses were gathered, of which 62 per cent of the respondents agreed that Singapore had areas to improve on its 2030 NDC.

While there may be trade-offs or inconveniences, 94 per cent of all respondents said they were willing to contribute towards Singapore’s net-zero cause.

The consultation also saw 66 per cent of respondents stating that Singapore’s sustainability goals were not sufficiently ambitious and should strive to reach net zero emissions before 2050.

The general consensus from the findings was that Singapore should aim to reach net zero emissions slightly earlier than their planned mid-century deadline. According to 126 of these respondents, the best time to achieve the net zero goal would be between 2040 and 2049.

Jurong Lake District and GreenGov.SG, the public sector’s sustainability movement, will lead the way to achieve the net zero emission ambition by implementing several measures.

At least 85 per cent of all trips in the district are targeted to be made by Walk-Cycle-Ride modes of transport by 2035. Walk-Cycle-Ride modes of transport are green ways to travel, and include public transport.

Jurong Lake District residents can expect to see two new MRT lines by the 2030s, and majority of the new roads in the district will include wider footpaths and cycling paths to encourage people to travel greener.

Jurong Lake District will also set aside 40 per cent of its land to construct parks, green spaces and water bodies for residents to enjoy recreational activities while cooling down the district.

A District Cooling system which helps improve energy efficiency, saves manpower and reduces carbon emissions will be introduced to new residential and commercial buildings in the district. 

As part of GreenGov.SG’s strategy to improve the annual energy consumption by 10 per cent by 2030, public sector buildings will be required to achieve the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy Standards.

This measure also applies to new residential developments in the Jurong Lake District Area.

GreenGov.SG also seeks to decrease the amount of waste disposed daily by 30 per cent by 2030 based on the 2022 Waste Disposal Index.

Public sector buildings with food and beverage establishments will segregate their food waste for either on-site or off-site treatment starting 2024, and agencies will not provide bottled water for meetings organised within public sector premises.