Diesel emissions to be studied, smoking ban to be expanded

SINGAPORE — Amid concerns over the harmful effects of air pollution, Singapore will conduct a study of pollution from diesel vehicles here and tighten emissions standards for motorcycles.

Diesel vehicles have become more popular worldwide but there are increasing concerns about their health and environmental impact, particularly in the wake of last year’s Volkswagen scandal, where the company’s vehicles were equipped with software to cheat emissions tests.

Diesel vehicles make up about 20 per cent of Singapore-registered vehicles here and most are commercial vehicles and buses. Diesel passenger cars make up about 1 per cent of the total car population but have been the fastest growing car segment in recent years, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Regulators worldwide are looking closely at real-world emissions of diesel vehicles and Singapore has to re-look the widespread use of diesel technology and minimise the public’s exposure to risks, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Tuesday (April 12).

The study will aid in the review of future vehicular emission policies, he said during his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate in Parliament.

Meanwhile, emission standards for new three-wheeled and large motorcycles (over 200cc engines) will be tightened to Euro IV standard from 2018, while new smaller motorcycles (200cc and below) will need to be of Euro IV standard from 2020.

Euro IV standard emissions of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides are about half that of Euro III, which Singapore imposed on new two-wheeled motorcycles in October 2014. Most existing motorcycles here, however, are of pre-Euro or Euro I standard.

To protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke, smoking will be banned from June at reservoirs, parks in public housing estates managed by town councils and those under JTC Corporation’s purview, as well as neighbourhood parks in private housing estates under the National Parks Board. 

The new locations add to more than 32,000 premises and locations in which smoking is now prohibited, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor told the House.

The Government’s long-term goal is to ban smoking in all public areas. 

To give smokers time to adjust, the NEA said it will advise those caught smoking in the newly prohibited areas in the first three months of the new regulation coming into effect. However, those who repeatedly flout the law in spite of warnings may be fined.

Camps and bases under the Singapore Armed Forces and premises belonging to the Ministry of Home Affairs will also be formally added to the list of places where smoking is prohibited by law, although such policies have been voluntarily implemented since the 1990s.

Nevertheless, the designated smoking points on these grounds will remain.