Sustainability a key goal of multiple ministries as Singapore looks to a green recovery: Grace Fu

• Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said many ministries have already included sustainability as part of their agenda
• Ms Fu’s ministry was renamed from Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources to reflect the Government’s focus on sustainability and environmental issues
• She believes the sustainability sector will be a good source of future jobs
• Ms Fu said a more efficient separation of Singapore’s waste stream is the direction the country should take to improve resource recovery

SINGAPORE — Several government ministries are tackling sustainability issues, not just the newly renamed Ministry of Sustainability and Environment (MSE), Ms Grace Fu said on Tuesday (Aug 18), outlining how Covid-19 offers an opportunity for a global reset on a green future.

Speaking at a virtual dialogue about what fiscal mechanisms the MSE had in place for a green recovery once the health crisis is over, Ms Fu, the new Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, also said that various ministries have already integrated this agenda into their work.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry, for example, has been looking at energy efficiency for some time, and has even introduced grant schemes to incentivise companies to take steps towards greater efficiency.

The Ministry of Transport, she added, has committed to buying electric buses and installing charging infrastructure progressively over the next 10 years.

“These are very long-term decisions and it involves great investment, but the Government is definitely taking the step to move (towards being sustainable),” she said.

These are all “little examples to show the seriousness of the Government in putting sustainability in the heart of many decisions”, she added.

When it comes to awarding tenders for its projects, the Government is also thinking about how much they want to incorporate sustainability in the decision-making process.

“That's the kind of thought process that we're doing now. So I think that in the not-so-distant future, we hope to talk about the (sustainable) framework for Government procurement,” Ms Fu said.

The dialogue on Tuesday, titled Climate Action: Emerging Stronger From A Crisis, was held in conjunction with the annual Climate Action Week, and was organised by digital media company Eco-Business and conglomerate Sembcorp Industries.

Speakers at the hour-long session included Mr Bradley Busett, the director of the United Nations Development Programme on Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development in Singapore, and Mr Wong Kim Yin, the group president and chief executive officer of Sembcorp Industries.

It was moderated by Eco-Business’ founder and managing director Jessica Cheam.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

During the dialogue, Ms Fu also touched on the rebranding of her ministry, which was previously called the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) before she took over the helm from Mr Masago Zulkifli on July 27 after last month’s General Election.

Ms Fu was formerly the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Mr Masagos now heads the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Even though MEWR had already been putting in effort and attention on the topic of sustainability before she took over, Ms Fu said that she and her team could not help but notice that a “very big subject matter” was missing in its old name: Sustainability.

“We thought that it is timely for us to put it right in the centre of the name to show the importance it now occupies in the Government's agenda."

 Ms Fu, who was also the Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources from 2012 to 2015, said that the consequences of climate change have become clearer when climate variation and extreme weather are seen affecting not just Singapore, but neighbouring countries as well.

“It is something that we have to take action on, we have to take note, and we have to take very, very long term decisions to protect ourselves in the long run.” 

In addition to climate adaptation, she reiterated the importance of being both energy and resource efficient, and being more resilient on the whole.

This focus on the sustainability sector will also create new job opportunities.

“We need climate scientists. We need people who understand engineering, who understand drainage, who understand how to protect our shoreline,” she said.

Singapore will also need, among others, experts who can extract value out of Singapore’s waste streams or provide technical expertise for urban farming.

DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL TRADE-OFFS

When asked how the Government will respond to the challenge of the significant increase in the usage of single-use plastic disposable items during the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Fu said that there needs to be a serious examination of the various waste streams and what the trade-offs are.

She explained that aside from food containers, there are other forms of single-use disposables such as face masks and personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

“When it comes to decisions in real life, it is never just one single dimension,” she said. “Sometimes it's a trade-off between public health and hygiene versus the use of plastic.”

What is important is how the waste streams are treated to minimise the impact on the environment, such as air quality, she said.

“We all know that because we incinerate 100 per cent of our waste, we harness the energy content from our plastics, but is that the best that we can do? I think not.”

The latest research has shown that there are other recycling methods that allow for the extraction of more usable resources from waste.

While a more efficient separation of Singapore’s waste stream is the direction that Ms Fu would like to take, she said that a mindset change would help as well.

“Use as little (as possible), get out as much as we can (from our waste streams) and minimise the impact on the environment. I think that will guide us going forward.”