$1b to green S'pore

THE Government on Monday unveiled a sweeping $1 billion blueprint for Singapore's sustainable development over the next 20 years, which covers broad areas from the way Singaporeans live to the way businesses will run.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee for Sustainable Development (IMCSD), set up in January last year, announced its findings and detailed goals for the next 10 to 20 years.

Speaking at a media conference, Minister for National Development and co-Chair of the IMCSD Mah Bow Tan said: 'Sustainable development can only be achieved through long-term attention and effort. We must act now.

'As individuals, we must be prepared to change the way we live, work, play and commute. As a nation, we have to invest to develop new technologies and alternative sources of energy.'

Noting that the economic situation has changed dramatically since the committee was set up, Mr Tan said: 'The temptation is to slow down our efforts in the area of sustainable development while we tackle the immediate economic challenges. However, the two are not mutually exclusive.'

Singapore will also continue to invest in the clean technology industry that will help green urban cities. This will contribute some $3.4 billion to Singapore's GDP and create 18,000 jobs by 2015.

The other IMCSD co-chair, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said that the concrete targets set out in the blueprint 'reflects how serious we are about sustainable development.'

'These targets will be reviewed regularly, as technology improves and the cost-effectiveness of measures changes,' he added.

Dr Yaacob also emphasised the role that all Singaporeans must play and how this could have a global impact, noting that that 'achieving our goals will require a whole-of-nation effort.'

Over the past year, members of the public and leaders of non-governmental organisations, businesses, grassroots organisations, academia, and media have contributed to the blueprint. More than 700 people gave their views through various focus group discussions, and members of the public submitted over 1,300 suggestions.