Singapore unveils Green Plan 2030, outlines green targets for next 10 years

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

The plan, which is spearheaded by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Ministry of National Development (MND), the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Ministry of Transport (MOT), charts Singapore’s green targets over the next 10 years. 

It also strengthens Singapore’s commitments under the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement, said the five ministries in a joint media release on Wednesday. 

The plan also positions Singapore to achieve its long-term net-zero emissions goal “as soon as viable”. 

In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that while Singapore might be a small country lacking in natural resources, it can still press on with tech and policy solutions for sustainable development.

"We need to ensure a Singapore for our future generations. All of us have to work together, and make Singapore a bright green spark for the world," he said.

In a separate Facebook post, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that climate change is an existential challenge for Singapore. As such, the country "will be making a determined effort to address this challenge head-on," he said.

"I hope the Green Plan will catalyse a broader national movement to take action to secure a sustainable future for Singapore. With each of us playing our part, I have every confidence that we will be able to build a more vibrant and greener home for future generations," said Mr Heng.

The plan follows the announcement by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean in February last year that Singapore wants to halve its 2030 peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with the aim of achieving net-zero emissions “as soon as viable in the second half of the century”. 

READ: Singapore targets to halve peak emissions by 2050, achieve net zero emissions 'as soon as viable' in second half of century

Some new initiatives under the plan include requiring all new car registrations to be cleaner-energy models from 2030, and more than doubling the targeted number of electric vehicle charging points by 2030. 

The plan also builds on Singapore’s 2030 aim to reduce the waste sent to the landfill by 30 per cent, aiming for a 20 per cent reduction by 2026, the media release read. 

Singapore will also aim for at least 20 per cent of schools to be carbon neutral by 2030 “for a start”, with the rest of the schools to follow, working towards a two-thirds reduction of net carbon emissions from the school sector by 2030. 

In schools, the Green Plan will be supported by the Eco Stewardship programme, to “strengthen the inculcation of informed, responsible and sustainability-conscious” mindsets and habits in youth.