Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment's Addendum to the President’s Address

MINISTRY OF SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

ADDENDUM TO THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

MS GRACE FU, MINISTER FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

1. The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) will strengthen Singapore’s environmental sustainability efforts and climate adaptation plans, even as we strive to uplift the daily environmental experiences of Singaporeans.

National Adaptation Plan and Efforts to Keep Singapore Resilient

2. Global cooperation around responding to climate change is weakening. This heightens the risks that global warming could impose on our infrastructure, economy, and society. MSE will develop Singapore’s inaugural National Adaptation Plan (NAP) that articulates targeted strategies to address physical risks and other impacts of climate change. The NAP will serve as our long-term roadmap outlining actions that we will collectively take with Singaporeans to enhance our climate resilience.

3. MSE will develop a Whole-of-Government integrated strategy for heat resilience, in partnership with businesses, academia, and community. We will increase investments in science and technology to identify innovative and effective solutions to manage the effects of heat on our population, and protect lives and livelihoods. 

4. To prepare for rising sea levels, MSE is undertaking site-specific studies across our coastline to identify and construct the most fit-for-purpose multi-functional coastal protection measures. We will press on with research efforts to develop new coastal protection technologies and solutions while learning from the best-in-class internationally.

5. Global food supply chains will increasingly be disrupted by disease outbreaks, extreme weather events, and heightened geopolitical uncertainty. MSE will enhance our food supply resilience by continuing to diversify our food import sources, build up our stockpile of essential food items, and help our local agri-food industry scale up and become more productive and climate-resilient.

 Implementing Mitigation Strategies for a Low-carbon Future

6. Singapore is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. To support our decarbonisation journey, MSE administers the carbon tax, a key enabler which complements other mitigation measures, by sending an economy-wide price signal to help businesses plan and internalise the cost of carbon emissions. Internationally, we will work with partners to develop mitigation measures such as the carbon credits market, and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage solutions, including conducting carbon capture trials for our Waste-to-Energy plants.

 Building Capabilities in Nuclear Safety and Governance

7. MSE will invest in building Singapore’s capacity to assess the safety of nuclear energy options. As regional countries explore the use of nuclear energy, we will strengthen regional and international civil nuclear cooperation, and enhance our incident response capabilities, including in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

 Investing in a Sustainable Future

8. MSE will continue to plan long-term and invest in our water infrastructure, as water demand is expected to almost double by 2065, in line with our economic and population growth. 

9. As Singapore’s only landfill, Semakau Landfill, continues to fill up, Singapore must make greater strides to reduce, reuse, and recycle. MSE will work with industry to reduce waste disposal, improve recycling, and explore better ways to reuse waste residues. We will launch our Beverage Container Return Scheme in partnership with the beverage industry.

10. MSE continues to work with partners and the community to improve public hygiene. We will target persistent littering and rat issues by tackling hotspots with technology, upstream refuse management, and stronger enforcement. To support the provision of affordable food options, the Government will invest up to $1 billion to upgrade existing hawker centres and build five new ones over the next 20 to 30 years.

Leveraging Partnerships and Technology

11. Environmental sustainability is a shared journey. Our programmes such as the SG Eco Fund and Go Green SG connect and support communities, corporates, non-governmental organisations, and schools to embrace sustainable lifestyles and contribute to climate action. MSE will also harness new technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence and data analytics, to achieve our mission by improving our operations and better serve Singaporeans. Together, we will work towards ensuring a greener, more liveable, and climate resilient Singapore.