Committee of Supply – Head L (Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources)

The Chairman: Head L, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

Sustainability and Climate Change

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head L of the Estimates be reduced by $100".

Climate change is a significant problem. We have witnessed its far-reaching effects in many countries, from droughts and floods to bush fires. We are fortunate that thus far, we have not had to grapple with direct effects of natural disasters caused by climate change. However, being a huge importer of food products, we are at the mercy of the global situation.

The Government established the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) last year to ensure and secure a supply of safe food and it has done good work to improve sustainability of our food sources.

Hygiene and food safety are essential to sustainability of food sources. In recent years, there have been several high-profile instances of food hygiene lapses. I would like to ask how has formation of SFA helped to tackle food hygiene issues? How does SFA balance strengthening the food hygiene regime without causing an rise in business cost? How does SFA ensure that the food industry continue to build a strong food safety culture even as globalisation and technological advancements transform the food landscape.

The battle to reduce plastic usage is essential for environmental sustainability. The Ministry is implementing the mandatory packaging reporting framework this year, with the aim to reduce packaging waste including plastics. This is something new to everyone and, certainly, some companies will require more than a little guidance in the initial stages of implementation.

Does the Ministry have plans to work with the industry to provide support for affected companies? Will the framework be tailored accordingly to different industries? Will it be applied to only local businesses, or also extended to imports, and how will that be implemented?

Packaging is often used for branding and marketing purposes. Some local businesses will likely proclaim the competition to be unfair if the imported goods may maintain their fancy and more aesthetically appealing packaging with little or no penalty.

I also note that with the COVID-19 outbreak, many sanitation products were frequently out of stock. Were F&B businesses and places, where food is served or handled, affected by the shortages, and how did they cope with it? How do we ensure enough supplies especially for hygiene in public toilets?

On the subject of food, food waste remains a significant problem. The Ministry had earlier announced that owners and occupiers of commercial and industrial premises which generate large amounts of food waste will be required to segregate their food waste for treatment from 2024. Can the Ministry share if the scope of affected premises and thresholds have been determined? Are there measures in place to help the industry comply with the requirements? Do hawker centres, coffeeshops, supermarkets fall under this regulation? Will this cause an increase in operation costs?

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In the last two years, many people were affected by food poisoning incidents as a result of improper hygiene and cleaning practices at places such as pre-schools and food establishments? How do we foster greater responsibility by businesses and society to raise cleanliness and hygiene standards in Singapore?

Each and every Singaporean must regard environment conservation as our duty. We may be a small dot on the globe, but we are heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world, as a result of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. As an island-city, it is inevitable for us to have many urban surfaces like buildings and roads. Heat generated from our large, high-density population gives rise to UHI effect. We need to reduce the rate at which we are heating up.

The Government has been working very hard to increase the amount of greenery on our island, which has offered some relief from the heat. I am grateful to NParks for the intensified greening in Singapore in general and Yishun, in particular. With the increase in number of trees and bushes, the area has become a much cooler and more pleasant environment for the residents.

We are starting to see some new innovative green architecture around the island and I hope some of the existing buildings and infrastructure may soon get a makeover as well. My Nee Soon South CC is being upgraded to become a net-zero energy building. I am very excited about it.

I hope the Government will set bold national goals, to make it mandatory for high green coverage on new buildings or even to make them net-zero energy or energy-positive buildings. Doing so will stimulate even more innovation and creativity in the building industries. I believe our implementation of photovoltaic (PV) systems could be more extensive.

I really like what Khoo Teck Puat Hospital has done with their roof tops, which is an energy-saving, green and sustainable combination of community gardens, farms and PV. Moreover, PVs, with their large, flat surfaces, could be designed for multiple functions, such as providing shelters from the sun and rain aside from collecting energy. They could be designed to complement the aesthetics of the buildings they serve.

Climate change is a crisis but the Chinese term for crisis "危机" is also made up by two characters, which means danger and opportunity. There are plenty of opportunities if we set our minds to adopting bold changes and strategies. Climate change is now a major concern for many world leaders. If we can set an example and come up with viable solutions to address climate challenges, Singapore would stand among the world leaders in addressing this major crisis, thus securing our relevance in the globe.

There is clearly a lot of local talent in our country. Since the rise in popularity of green buildings, many of our architects, planners and engineering professionals have risen to the occasion. Their projects combining greenery and unique architecture have captured attention worldwide and even appeal to travellers for their "Instagram-worthy" appearances.

There are also many ground-up initiatives, ranging from classes on making your own compost, to roundtable discussions, really free markets to exchange and give away unwanted items and so on. Can we pool their expertise together so there is a more coordinated approach and sharing of resources? In Nee Soon South, I intend to turn our under-utilised multi-storey carpark (MSCP) rooftop into high-tech community farm. I would like to ask the Minister: is there any funding available?

Singaporeans, especially the younger generation, are big on sustainable initiatives. There is also plenty of talent and expertise. The Government must take the lead and strike while the iron is hot. Together, let us make this little red dot a shining example to the world.

And today is World Engineering Day. I would like to take this opportunity pay tribute to all the engineers, including our MEWR Minister, and his team in MEWR for working very hard and come up with very innovative engineering solutions to make this world a better place to live in. And I am also very proud to be an engineer.

Question proposed.

The Chairman: Mr Dennis Tan, take your two cuts together.

Carbon Sinks in Singapore

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Chairman, it was reported that land in Singapore changed from a net absorber of carbon in 2012 to a net emitter in 2014.

According to NParks, this is due largely to land conversion from forests and other vegetated areas to settlements. This is particularly concerning, as over the past few years, we have seen the prioritisation of development projects over the benefits afforded by sensitive eco-systems due to such projects as the Cross Island Line, the Tengah HDB project and the Mandai project.

Will the Government be committed to securing the inviolability of our nature reserves and greater protection of the little that is left of our more natural green eco-systems in the future? Apart from the forest significant heritage and ecological value, they provide Singapore with carbon sinks, important in our urban environment and helps mitigate the urban island heat effect.

I also understand that Singapore uses satellite images covering all land use classes and the five carbon pools, as defined by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and have established permanent sampling plots across the nation for the tracking of carbon in relevant land use classes.

I would like to ask the Minister how have or how can such efforts help Singapore improve tree bio-mass growth rates so as to preserve and build more carbon sinks. Will the forest restoration action plan, as announced by NParks in January 2019, help in converting land in Singapore back to a net absorber of carbon?

Emissions from Oil Refining Industries

My next cut. Singapore's energy and chemicals industry sector contributes to about 60% of Singapore's total emissions. Around three-quarters of these industry sectors emissions come from the oil refining and petrochemical sector. The Government has set a carbon tax of $5 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent for five years and plans to review it by 2023 with the intention of raising the carbon text to between $10 and $15 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030.

Industrial energy efficiency, particularly for large emitters is currently being addressed by the Energy Conservation Act (ECA). Large emitters are required under the ECA to submit annual energy efficiency improvement plans. From 2021, these emitters must also establish facility-wide energy management systems and conduct energy efficiency opportunities assessments which must be submitted to NEA.

I would like to ask the Minister how successful has the ECA been in improving industrial energy efficiency for our energy and chemicals industry and more specifically, for our oil refining Industries in the past five years? Can the public have access to aggregated information on the improvements?

Minister Masago said in his Parliamentary Question reply to me last month that the Government works closely with the oil refining industry to ensure that they achieve high standards of energy efficiency and adopt sustainable practices; and that all three oil refineries in Singapore have set up co-generation plants, which can significantly improve the energy efficiency of the refineries. Has the Government set any projection or targets for emissions reductions for our refining industry in the next five years? And if so, what are these? And if not, will the Government consider doing so?

Carbon Auditing

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Chairman, Sir, it has been one year since the carbon tax has come into effect and last Friday, Senior Minister Teo announced the goal of capping Singapore's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, halving it by 2050, and eventually achieving net-zero emissions. I support this goal.

What we need now is the commitment by Government and businesses to actually reduce emissions and track it. In Australia, carbon neutral certification under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard is an example of how the government supports businesses as they account for and reduce carbon emissions. The Energy Conservation Act currently requires large energy users in the industry and transport sectors to monitor and report energy usage and conduct energy efficiency assessments. A similar framework can be applied to carbon emissions. We should, in the journey to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, require all Government bodies and large companies to conduct annual carbon auditing.

There are a variety of carbon management services available in the market today. With carbon auditing, organisations can understand their greenhouse inventory, isolate each emission source, and hence, determine and model emission reduction strategies, their payback and viability.

To help ease organisations into this, the Government could implement carbon auditing subsidies for the next 10 years. If companies successfully reduce their carbon emissions year on year, incremental subsidies can incentivise them to continue to do so.

Other ways to encourage a greener report card could be doubling on handouts for low-carbon initiatives and progressive carbon tax relief. In 2019, the UK set a new target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with ambitious policies and generous funding to support this. More has to be done and decisively so, or the climate emergency will continue to worsen.

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Mr Louis Ng, you can take all your cuts together.

Promoting the Use of Solar Energy

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, the Young PAP held a focus group discussion last month with 16 climate activists and drafted 24 recommendations. These included incentivising solar energy, which is the most viable clean energy source in Singapore.

In Nee Soon, 64% of the electricity for municipal fittings is from solar energy. We should all move towards being fully solar powered.

Will MEWR provide incentives to encourage solar deployment on rooftops and also provide consumers with rebates for electricity plans that use solar energy? Will MEWR also deploy more floating solar panels at our reservoirs?

Bringing Forward the Carbon Tax Review

Next, climate change is an existential threat. I am glad we have introduced the carbon tax to fight climate change. However, the current $5 per tonne carbon tax rate is too low. The timeline for reviewing the rate is also too long. The Ministry plans to review the tax only by 2023 and increase it to only $10 to $15 by 2030.

The minimum rate required by 2020 to reach the Paris Agreement temperature target is estimated at $54.

Young PAP and climate activists hope we bring forward the 2023 review and increase the rate to more than $15 per tonne.

Releasing Emissions Data

Next, MEWR has said that it will not disclose the carbon tax contributions of companies because the tax was meant only as a price signal. But a tool can have multiple uses.

Releasing emissions data by company and facility is not a new idea. The EU publishes the emissions of 15,000 facilities. The UK requires its 2,000 listed companies to declare their emissions. The German Institute of Economic Research has found that such company-level disclosures work, reducing emissions by 17% permanently.

What I am proposing is a carefully targeted measure. We publish only the data of those that pay the tax. This means only the highest emitters will face pressure. It also means they can stop being published by cutting their emissions. A carrot and a stick.

MEWR says the Carbon Pricing Act does not allow release of the data. If that is true, we can amend the Act.

The fight against climate change should be built on transparency. Young PAP and climate activists both agree. Will MEWR study the idea of releasing emissions data on taxable facilities and companies?

Greening Our Private Passenger Car Fleet

Next, it is positive news that we have committed to having a fleet of local public buses that runs on cleaner energy by 2040. It is also good news that we intend to phase out internal combustion engines (ICE) and have vehicles run on cleaner energy by 2040.

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But this will take time as we need to expand the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. In the meantime, we can steer Singapore towards an environmentally-friendly car society by improving the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES). Currently, a hybrid car costs more – a lot more. Will the Ministry consider offering higher rebates under the current VES and increasing surcharges for vehicles with higher emissions?

I understand that we are not in the business of making cars cheaper, but we are in the business of protecting our environment. We can do this by urging people and steering them towards purchasing hybrid cars in the next 10 years, again before the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is ready.

It is also good news that we will be extending the VES to light commercial vehicles. Can MEWR provide more details about this?

Reducing Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Use and Emission

Next, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), commonly used in refrigerators and air-conditioners, are greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. NEA has put in place licensing controls for the import, export and manufacture of 18 types of HFCs which took effect from 1 January 2019. However, Singapore has not yet ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol which requires parties to phase-down the production and consumption of HFCs.

Can the Ministry share whether Singapore will ratify the Kigali Amendment and share its plans to further reduce the use and emission of HFCs in Singapore?

Reporting Public Service Carbon Use

Temasek has taken a strong lead in tackling climate change and is urging everyone to join them. As Mdm Ho Ching said a few months ago, "Some businesses have already planned for 100% renewable energy before or by 2050. Others are setting yearly goals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. For those of us who have not started, I propose that we take a simple step, to report our electricity and transport usage by next financial year. This is very simple; whether you are big or small, it is a very simple step to take. It is a proxy for our indirect emissions. Once we track and measure, as all businesses know, we can start to scope our solutions to reduce emissions or reduce waste."

Can the Ministry follow Temasek and take the very simple step of reporting its electricity, paper, travel and water usage? Can the Public Service also follow Temasek and pledge to go carbon-neutral by this year and, like Temasek, ensure that “Sustainability is not just one of our roles. It is at the core of everything we do.”

Banning Disposables for Public Service

Lastly, in Nee Soon East, we have launched our Zero Waste Masterplan. We have saved 39,792 disposables – single-use plates, forks, spoons, bowls and cups – since the launch of our Masterplan in April last year. We no longer use disposables at Nee Soon East CC events. This year, we will expand it to all our RC events.

We have saved so much. At the same time, it is shocking to me that we have used so much in less than a year. If we can save so much in Nee Soon East, imagine how much we can save if more were to join us on this "Say Yes to Waste Less Journey". I know that MEWR is already doing this. Will the entire Public Service commit to end the use of all disposables at all Public Service events?

Climate Change and Household Appliances

Dr Chia Shi-Lu (Tanjong Pagar): Mr Chairman, high usage of air-conditioning and refrigerators contributes to global warming, and none more so than in Singapore where we love our climate control and air-conditioning. But as a responsible member of the global community, we should do our best to reduce our carbon footprint. Ideally, our cooling appliances should be energy-efficient and operate using refrigerant gas with a lower global warming potential.

Many refrigerants have a global warming potential that can be over 1,000 times as potent as carbon dioxide. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol aims to reduce hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants by over 80% over the next 30 years.

I would like to ask to what extent are refrigerators and air-conditioners and other cooling equipment which are both energy-efficient and use refrigerants with low global warming potential available in our market today? How will the Ministry help our consumers make more climate-friendly choices for their household appliances?

Tackling Climate Change

Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Chairman, I will be focusing on the two funds created in Budget 2020. Sir, I note that Budget 2020 is creating two pots of money in order to combat climate change – the Coastal and Flood Protection Fund and the SG Eco Fund. My questions are related to these policies and I commend MEWR for taking this step to set up these two funds in its fight against climate change.

On the Coastal and Flood Protection Fund, what immediate investments will be made from the initial $5 billion? Will any funds be allocated towards understanding the pollutive effects of each industry and reducing the levels of pollution? In this regard, are there any plans to incorporate sustainability as a factor in our Industry Transformation Roadmaps?

The next questions on the SG Eco-Fund flow from my concerns regarding the Coastal and Flood Protection Fund. What sort of projects does the Ministry expect to fund using this fund and how does this differ from the Coastal and Flood Protection Fund? What sort of measurable impact does the Ministry expect that this fund will have? Lastly, what plans does the Ministry have to co-create sustainability with Singaporeans? It is very important that we bring Singaporeans onboard this entire journey and process and allow us to help them co-create the future.

Finally, our economy must reflect our priorities. I wonder whether these funds or any funds are available to create "green" jobs and equip our fellow Singaporeans with the skills needed to support our paradigm shift in sustainability. Specifically, how will the investments mentioned above support our economy? What steps is the Ministry taking to open up opportunities for industries and our workers in Singapore?

Flood Resilience and Coastal Protection

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Sir, the rise in global sea levels has accelerated in recent decades due to the melting ice sheets. Researchers projected that 13.6% to 15.2% of global beaches will be lost by 2050. As an island state, sea level rise is an existential issue for Singapore. The Prime Minister shared at the 2019 National Day Rally that the UN currently projects that sea levels will rise by up to one metre by the end of this century, or 80 years from now.

It was also shared that Singapore would need $100 billion or more over 100 years to build our coastal defences to protect ourselves. It is thus timely that this Budget introduced the $5 billion Coastal and Flood Protection Fund. Can the Minister provide an update and details of the plans to build up our coastal defences?

And as building coastal defence against sea levels would likely involve multiple agencies and stakeholders, can the Minister also provide details of the Government's strategy to coordinate our coastal protection efforts?

Flood Resilience and Vector Control

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Since Singapore's Independence in 1965, we have faced two primary water management challenges – scarcity of fresh water and flood risk. As a low-lying country, we faced the threat and damage of inland flooding. At the same time, we need to manage our scarce water resources well.

History shows floods have had a long-running effect on Singapore – national records remind us of the extensive floods in Newton Circus in December 1969, Rochor Canal in November 1973 and Braddell Road in December 1978. We have certainly come a very long way.

From 2013, there have been several flash floods with floodwaters up to half a metre deep. With climate change picking up, Singapore will experience increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather, probably resulting in more frequent and intense storms. What are PUB's future plans to mitigate against inland floods in the face of this challenge?

PUB has undertaken significant infrastructure developments, including the construction of the Stamford Diversion Canal and the Stamford Detention Tank, to protect the Stamford catchment and the Orchard Road area. There was also a $300 million seven-year-long upgrade of the Bukit Timah First Diversion Canal. Have these helped to prevent floods and strengthen Singapore’s flood resilience? Are there any more of such major drainage projects that PUB plans to undertake?

In addition, how do we tackle flood risk and balance this against societal affordability? Could other cost-efficient options, including green infrastructure, green areas that retain rainwater and mangrove restoration, be further reviewed? How is the Government also getting the commercial property developers to do their part for flood mitigation?

Also essential are monitoring and public communication systems that alert populations to flooded areas, such as the ones PUB has developed, to provide early warning of risky, flooded areas. How can we further enhance those systems?

At the National Day Rally in 2019, Prime Minister Lee mentioned that the sea level rise is an "existential issue". We have committed at least $100 billion to build up coastal defences. The severity and enormity of the challenge requires us to plan way ahead but execute quickly. What is the progress of the Ministry’s efforts and what are the concrete measures that have already been embarked upon? When can the public expect to see the overall blueprint?

Coastal protection will require balancing of varying needs. For example, protecting our coastlines with sea walls and polders might have permanent ecological impact. It might have impact on shipping lanes, underwater cable infrastructure, maritime security and international relations. It is extensive work that cuts across multiple agencies. Would the Ministry consider setting up a one-stop agency to coordinate Coastal Protection work?

Coastal Protection and Flood Mitigation can also bring about significant economic opportunities for Singaporeans. While we learn extensively from the Dutch experts on, for example, polder work, how are we localising such knowledge? Are we also building up a pipeline of local talent in such work so that it might result in another "Water Story" for Singapore? Because of the vast capital needs of such projects, local companies might not be able to participate in this important national project. How is the Ministry ensuring that our local firms can participate and that there is sufficient technology transfer?

The Government expects to spend more than $100 billion. What principle would be used for financing such projects, noting the need to balance inter-generational needs?

Lastly, dengue has become a tropical disease that we have to live with. Because of climate change, Singapore is experiencing warmer temperatures. That might worsen the dengue situation. How does this affect our longer term dengue management strategy?

Dengue

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): While COVID-19 takes our immediate attention, dengue continues to be a persistent challenge that also deserves significant attention. Indeed, dengue case numbers for the beginning of this year have spiked against the same period last year and there are several live clusters in certain estates in Aljunied GRC. Residents remain concerned even as they appreciate the diligence of NEA teams in the area. The warmer weather in the coming months could lead to an even higher mosquito population.

In an update in January, NEA has noted the threat from the DENV-3 serotype, a strain of dengue not dominant in more than 30 years. Dengue strains have, in the past, switched from DENV-1 and DENV-2, but NEA has noted a recent increase in DENV-3 cases in three large dengue clusters in Singapore. While NEA has stated that it is still too early to say that there had been a switch of the dominant serotype, low herd immunity towards the new strain will leave Singaporeans vulnerable to a large outbreak.

In terms of anti-dengue strategy, there was previous discussion about the prospects of a dengue vaccine. However, recent experience from other countries which have tried a vaccine has cast doubts about its efficacy and highlighted potential health risks.

Controlling the mosquito population may have better and more immediate prospects. Project Wolbachia is a promising technology for vector control, where infected mosquitoes are deployed for sterile breeding. The project has been expanded in Singapore but it is still under study and is not deployed in existing dengue clusters.

Long-term, with climate change and global warming, mosquitoes are poised to breed faster, and the virus replication may also be accelerated.

In the light of these developments, has the Government adjusted its dengue containment strategies, both short-term and long-term? Also, how has NEA coped with the manpower challenges of such outbreaks and leveraged technology to augment its manpower?

Vector Control

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Health and Home Affairs (Mr Amrin Amin): Warmer temperatures can potentially lead to an increase in mosquito population and spread of vector-borne diseases, including dengue. How will the impact of climate change affect dengue management?

This year, the number of dengue cases is concerning. There is an increasing number of dengue cases of serotype 3. Singapore needs to be vigilant and be on the alert. Can the Ministry share any new plans for dengue management? How does Project Wolbachia fit into these plans?

Dengue and Vector Control

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: Chairman, even as we battle the COVID-19 outbreak, another health threat is already facing us and it has been facing us for a long while. Since the beginning of the year, the number of dengue infections has been increasing. Last week, NEA reported 110 dengue clusters, of which 25 are at red alert level. Even as I speak, my constituency of Queenstown has three active dengue clusters and one could argue that the dengue problem could pose an even larger and more real threat to Queenstown and to the rest of Singapore than even COVID-19.

Singapore has been seeing warmer temperatures in recent years as a consequence of global warming, punctuated by more frequent showers, which provide fertile grounds for mosquito breeding. How will the impact of climate change affect our dengue management strategies? What are the Ministry’s plans for dengue management in the future and how does Project Wolbachia fit into our national strategy to combat the dengue menace? Will the Ministry please provide an update on the project to date and whether it would be expanded to other areas in Singapore?

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In addition, I would like to ask whether the Ministry is satisfied with the results of our public education and campaign to prevent mosquito breeding? And how have industries and households responded to enforcement measures?

The Chairman: Mr Louis Ng, take your two cuts together.

Expanding Project Wolbachia

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: Sir, Nee Soon East residents have benefited from Project Wolbachia and it has led to a 90% drop in the mosquito population in Nee Soon East. It is good news, but many residents still have concerns about this project.

Many ask me why we are releasing mosquitoes that will bite them. I tell them we are only releasing male mosquitoes and "Males don’t bite".

The next concern is that they tell me the males will attract the females who will then bite them. I tell them do not worry, it is the males who look for the females.

Can MEWR share how we will be increasing awareness about this Project and also whether there are further plans to expand this to other parts of Singapore so more people can benefit from it?

Introducing a Food Donation Act

Next. Food waste is a serious and growing problem. In 2018, 763,000 tonnes of food was wasted in Singapore, a 30% increase compared to 10 years ago. At the same time, some Singaporeans struggle to have three meals a day.

Both problems can be alleviated if we introduce a Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. This piece of legislation would help encourage companies and organisations to donate healthy food that would otherwise go to waste. It will help both the environment and our people. Will MEWR support a Private Member's Bill for a Good Samaritan Food Donation Act?

The Chairman: Mr Gan Thiam Poh, both cuts, please.

Import Source Diversification

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): Chairman, the COVID-19 crisis highlights the importance of having diverse sources of supply for all our imported goods. Singapore is particularly vulnerable since we are so reliant on imports. It is natural to want to order more from particular trading partners which are reliable and offer good value for money. However, this will consequently reduce the imports from other sources.

Being mindful of the risks of over-dependence on any one particular supplier or region, we must make it a strategic national security decision to diversify our imports, even if it means that it may be less cost-effective. Would the Ministry provide an update on how it ensures a robust import strategy to prevent supply disruptions, price hikes and supply fluctuations?

Local Food Source Sustainability

Next, as we import most of our food, we are vulnerable to external shocks that affect food supplies at their sources. Potential food supply disruptions could come from unexpected or extreme weather conditions, problems with transport routes or delivery modes, export bans, or even crises such as the COVID-19 outbreak. Hence, diversification of our food import sources is critical and in addition, to enhance our food security, we have set for ourselves the "30-30" goal to produce 30% of our nutritional needs domestically by 2030. Singapore currently produces less than 10% of her nutritional needs domestically. Would the Ministry share an update on how we could achieve the 30-30 goal and what measures and incentives are available to encourage Singaporeans to seize the new opportunities in our food production sector?

The Chairman: Miss Cheng Li Hui, both cuts, please.

Local Food Production

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Sir, last year the Ministry announced the formation of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and our ambitious "30 by 30" goal to raise Singapore’s food production level from the current 10% to 30% by the year 2030.

Singapore relies heavily on imported food. About 90% of our food needs come from over 160 countries. As such, Singapore is especially vulnerable to disruptions in the global food supply chain and to price fluctuations.

Deputy Prime Minister shared in his Budget speech that our imported supplies could also come under strain from climate change or geopolitical tensions.

In land-scare Singapore, our approach to realising our "30 by 30" goal must be meticulously planned and carefully calibrated. With only 1% of land mass allocated to agriculture, we face a big challenge in growing our own produce. It is, therefore, important that Singapore focus on R&D to harness technological advances to boost local food production.

Can the Minister elaborate on what are the challenges and opportunities for Singapore associated with our goal? Can the Minister also share the progress on our vertical farming and fish farming? How can we reach our 30-30 goal and help our local agri-food sector grow sustainably in the long run?

Novel Foods

Next. Sir, the adoption of novel food by Singaporeans has grown recently. Today, Impossible burgers is well received in Singapore. I just heard that we are going to have Impossible gyoza for tea later. As we gravitate toward plant-based foods, SFA has a responsibility to ensure that they are safe for consumption.

A framework is being set up by SFA to look into the safety assessment criteria of novel food. There will also be opportunities for our food industry to grow our presence in this area. Can the Minister share how is SFA facilitating the business opportunities in this area while ensuring food safety is protected?

The Chairman: Mr Gan Thiam Poh, take your two cuts, please.

Support Local

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: Sir, in order to reach our 30-30 goal of producing 30% of domestic nutritional needs by 2030, our agri-food sector needs funding and technological support to ramp up production. It is an ambitious goal as we only produce less than 10% locally today. To overcome our land, water and human resource constraints, we need to adopt innovative solutions and tap on technology to optimise productivity. We will continue to need a lot of support from R&D.

As food supply reliability is a fundamental national security issue, we must strengthen our resolve to make the endeavor a success. Can the Ministry provide an update on what the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is doing to support our local farmers to help them succeed in the face of stiff competition in a free and open market?

SG Eco Fund

Next. The launch of a SG Eco Fund by the Ministry to support partnerships with the community and enterprises in our sustainability efforts is much welcomed. Indeed, Singaporeans are becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability in every aspect of our lives. From renewable energy to reducing plastic and e-waste, conserving our precious water resource to making sustainable food choices, we all hope to contribute in our own ways in the attempt to become a low carbon, low emissions country; and we are all putting in more effort into supporting sustainability efforts. Can the Ministry share more details about the projects which Singaporeans and companies can apply for under this new SG Eco Fund?

Review of Year Towards Zero Waste

Mr Chen Show Mao (Aljunied): Sir, zero waste is an effort that members of the public as consumers can be engaged in to great effect. All of us can take action to reduce, reuse, recycle and refuse waste. Twenty-nineteen was designated by the Ministry as the Year towards zero waste to rally Singaporeans to care for our environment and treasure our resources.

May I ask for a review of its results and lessons in view of the goals enumerated in the Zero Waste Master Plan and for an update of the Ministry's efforts in this area.

Recycling Bins

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, with increasing awareness of the importance of recycling, more residents are bringing recyclable items to the blue recycling bins in our housing estates. However, very often, the bins are full and residents end up leaving their items around the bins. The reason these bins fill up so quickly is that many plastic bottles and tins can be quite bulky, such as bleach bottles and Milo tins. Add piles of newspaper and cardboard packaging waste, and the contributed items accumulate very quickly.

Hence, I would like to request that we increase the size of the bins or allocate more bins to each HDB block. I hope that their designs can also be improved to make them more user-friendly. Some big items simply do not fit into the bin slots.

Recycling

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: Chairman, I think I have mentioned this many times now, but we are a failure when it comes to domestic recycling, which is stuck at a dismal 21% to 22% rate. Singaporeans are not recycling. We have an attitude of convenience and we depend on the Government to do everything.

Sir, the Government has done what it can to encourage domestic recycling. There is a conspicuous blue bin with simplified images showing what should be recycled at every HDB block and specially marked recycling trucks picking up the recycled thrash regularly. I think it is time we change strategy to turn the National Recycling Programme into community-led recycling.

Experience in Germany, South Korea and Taiwan, which have the highest rates of municipal recycling, show that when urban communities are mobilised to take ownership of recycling programmes, cultures and norms of recycling become entrenched. In Taiwan, waste collection is not an individual throwaway chore but a community ritual and recycling party where piped music from waste collection truck bring out local residents with bags of recyclables and mixed waste, and community volunteers help residents sort out the thrash properly.

In Singapore, we have an urban set-up conducive for community recycling efforts. With blue bins located at each HDB block, local grassroots organisations can take ownership of the bins to monitor the recycling trend of each block, diagnose problems such as low rate of recycling or indiscriminate dumping of thrash, and organise targeted events or campaigns to educate the residents of the block.

Use of Styrofoam Crockery and Products

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: Mr Chairman, despite the move towards a greener, zero-waste nation, suppliers of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and eggs as well as hawkers and cooked food sellers continue to use lots of styrofoam and plastic packaging. Of the 1.6 million tonnes of domestic waste disposed of in 2018, one-third is made up of packaging. More than half of this packaging is made of plastic, but only 4% of plastic waste is recycled.

In COS 2018, citing Taiwan’s ban in single use plastics including straws, cups and shopping bags by 2030, I had asked about the Ministry’s plans to reduce the use of plastic disposables in Singapore involving either the restriction or the banning of single use plastic carrier bags, straws and disposable cups, containers and utensils.

In 2016, the Government also said that it will not ban styrofoam products for food crockery and packaging but will seek to discourage hawkers from using disposable ware.

We still see much styrofoam food crockery and packaging being used at hawker centres, coffee shops and other food outlets. I would like to ask for an update of the rate of use of styrofoam products in food crockery and packaging vis-à-vis other materials since 2016.

Given their harmful effects on the environment, I would also like to ask whether the Government will conduct a review of the use of styrofoam products for food crockery and packaging use, and whether it will set any target to ban such products or if not, what measures it will take to either reduce or to disincentivise such uses in the next five years. I will also like to ask whether the Government will be looking into encouraging alternative single-use products usage, such as bamboo products.

Introducing a Single-use Bag Charge

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: Sir, in response to Fairprice's trial of reducing the use of plastic bags by charging customers 10 or 20 cents per transaction, Prime Minister said: "It is a sensible approach: to make people conscious of the plastic bags they use, but not to ban plastic bags altogether. Using fewer plastic bags alone will not solve climate change or save the earth, but every bit counts. And making us conscious of our habits, and consider better alternatives, has value in itself."

I agree with Prime Minister. I have been calling for a plastic bag charge since 2018. Countries around the world have introduced a plastic bag charge, and it works. In England, there was a 90% reduction. It was estimated that every person was using 10 bags in the most recent year, compared with 140 bags in 2014 before the charge was introduced.

For a start and similar to England, will MEWR consider introducing a single-use bag charge and make it mandatory for large retailers and optional for smaller businesses and waive the charge for single-use bags for fresh food and meat items? This is for all single-use bags, not just plastic bags.

Towards a Zero Waste Nation

Mr Mohamed Irshad: Chairman, all Members of this Chamber agreed that climate change is an existential threat to our nation. To tackle this, I am heartened that last year, 2019, it was designated as Singapore's "Zero Waste Year", and we passed the Resource Sustainability Act (RSA), designed to promote resource sustainability. My following set of questions relates to the reflection of these priorities in Budget 2020.

Firstly, allow me to focus on our implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes. Last year, this House legislated for an EPR scheme for e-waste. It envisioned licensed operators collecting and treating regulated consumer products on behalf of producers. Can the Ministry share the progress on this front? Namely:

One, how many operators have applied for a license thus far and how many have been licensed?

Two, do we have sufficient local recycling capabilities to treat the expected volume collected e-waste? What measures is the Ministry taking to ensure the proper treatment of all e-waste collected?

And three, given our focus on transiting into a circular economy, are there any plans to expand our Producer Responsibility Schemes beyond just e-waste; and by 2025, perhaps, packaging waste?

Four, what sort of progress has been made on the EPR scheme for packaging waste. What should the industry be expecting?

Next, on the topic of packaging waste, I note that the Mandatory Packaging Reporting Framework will kick in on 1 July. What sort of support for affected companies will the Ministry be providing to ensure accurate data? Additionally, the framework merely requires reporting, even if they cross prescribed thresholds. Are there any plans and funds for the Ministry to work with the producers to implement their 3R plans?

Lastly, on the topic of food waste, the Ministry previously announced that owners and occupiers of commercial and industrial premises which generate large amounts of food waste will be required to segregate their food waste for treatment from 2024. Can the Ministry share if the scope of affected premises and thresholds have been determined? Are there measures in place to help the industry comply with the requirements?

2.15 pm

The Chairman: Dr Chia Shi-Lu, please take all your three cuts together.

Managing Packaging and Plastic Waste

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: Mr Chairman, packaging forms a significant portion of the waste that is generated by domestic sources, which include households and trade premises, such as shophouses. Statistics from NEA show that one-third of our waste is packaging waste and 55% of that packaging waste is plastic. Considering that only 4% of our plastic waste is recycled, there is certainly potential to further reduce packaging and plastic waste.

The Ministry had earlier announced plans to put in place an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework to deal with packaging waste, including plastics, no later than 2025 or, perhaps, even earlier. Under the EPR approach, producers bear the responsibility for the collection and treatment of their products when they reach end-of-life. Would the Ministry share more details about how NEA intends to implement and enforce these plans? Next cut.

Responsible E-waste Disposal

I am very happy with the Resource Sustainability Act which was passed last year. It is, I feel, one of the most important pieces of legislation introduced to deal with the increasing amounts of e-waste, food waste and packaging waste, including plastics, due to their quantities and low recycling rates.

The Act will give effect to the EPR scheme for e-waste. The Ministry announced that a Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) Operator will be announced to collect and ensure proper treatment of regulated electrical and electronic consumer products on behalf of the producers. For non-consumer products, producers will be required to provide free take-back of all end-of-life commercial, industrial and electrical equipment before consigning them to licensed waste collectors or e-waste recyclers. Would the Ministry share the progress of the scheme's implementation for e-waste?

Management of E-waste

Last cut. With the introduction of the Resource Sustainability Act last year, the EPR scheme will commence and a PRS operator I alluded to earlier will be appointed to collect and ensure proper disposal of electrical and electronic consumer products. For non-consummable products, producers will have to take back and transfer the equipment to licensed waste collectors or e-waste recyclers.

Singapore generates about 60,000 tonnes of e-waste a year and the amount is expected to grow year on year. I would like to ask whether we have sufficient local recycling capabilities to process the expected volume of e-waste collected under this EPR? What measures will the Ministry implement to ensure the proper treatment and responsible disposal of all this e-waste that is collected?

High-rise Littering

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: Chairman, high-rise littering is a particularly dangerous offence which can cause serious injury or even result in death. I strongly urge the Ministry to utilise all available tools and technology at its disposal to prevent and deter this anti-social behavior. Rigorous enforcement should be conducted and heavy penalties meted out to offenders.

I would like to ask for the latest available statistics for this offence and whether the trend is improving or worsening. What has been done to curb high-rise littering and whether the Ministry will be deploying more advanced technology or investigative techniques, such as identification through DNA? Could the Ministry also leverage more on the sense of shame, such as by increasing the visibility and duration of the Corrective Work Orders, to punish these high-rise litterbugs?

Tray Return, Hygiene and Hawker Centres

Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Chairman, amidst this COVID-19 outbreak, much has been said about social responsibility and public hygiene. From Town Councils to offices, disinfection and constant cleaning has become the norm. This crisis affords us the opportunity to also reinforce the importance of social norms, such as in our hawker centres.

For a number of years now, we have been promoting the concept of tray returns. Gradually, we have seen better response. Yet, we also see many previous innovations fall into disuse. In many older hawker centres, you see automated tray-return belts that have been switched off; coin-return machines that do not work; tray-return stations becoming manual stacking stations for cleaners.

At the same time, the role of the tray is also very much temporary. Many remove their trays out of habit and place dishes onto tables. There is also a socially irresponsible behavior, such as the spitting of food waste and bones onto table surfaces, not just during COVID-19, but on any other day. This should be discouraged. Cleaners often do not have the adequate tools nor training to properly clean. Often, the same cloth is used. And one does not need to leave much to the imagination that the same food waste spat out onto tables ends up being smeared across the entire table.

I, therefore, ask that MEWR and NEA promote the usage of trays while dining and not remove the tray itself. This way, the tray catches any spillage as well as any food waste or oral fluids. This means that conservancy contractors should also be incentivised to sterilise trays after each use. This reduces the workload of cleaners, promotes a clean hygienic eating environment and reduces the spread of diseases.

To further achieve this, the design of hawker centres will also have to adapt. Some older hawker centres still use round tables, which are not conducive for the use of trays unlike rectangular tables in newer centres. Beyond COVID-19, I hope that this will promote better hygiene and social norms in Singapore.

Socially-Conscious Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC) Model

Mr Amrin Amin: In late 2018, the new management model of hawker centres came under public scrutiny. Key issues raised were high stall rentals and operating costs, including hidden costs, long working hours and harsh contractual obligations.

Several improvements have been made to the Socially-Conscious Enterprise Hawker (SEHC) model to better support hawkers. These include a review of contractual terms between the operators and stallholders, regular hawkers' feedback groups, Productive Hawker Centres grant and a staggered rental scheme with lower initial costs for stallholders.

MEWR previously announced a review of the SEHC model. Can MEWR provide an update on the implementation of these improvements? Have the issues been adequately addressed? Will new hawker centres continue to come under the SEHC model?

Hawker Centres

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: Chairman, hawker centres are an important and integral part of Singapore life. Not only do they provide affordable, accessible, hygienic and good quality food, they also serve as essential social spaces where Singaporeans and visitors can gather to enjoy a good meal.

In 2011, the Government had announced that it intended to build 20 new hawker centres by 2027. Are we still on track to meet this target? How is the Ministry ensuring that the hawker trade can be sustained and how can productivity in hawker centres be raised in the face of manpower constraints? Would the Ministry also share an update on how well each of the new hawker centres are doing? Does the Ministry have any plans to review and enhance the present schemes for this sector?

Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centres

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Sir, first of all, I would like to correct my cut title of SCHC. It is supposed to be Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC) instead of Social Enterprise Hawker Centre.

Sir, in the last quarter of 2018, there were media reports on hawkers' feedback pertaining to some challenges they faced in operating their food or drinks stalls under the SEHC scheme. Among the feedback were, having to apply for leave in advance if they choose not to open their stalls; not having the freedom to adjust food prices; having to pay penalty fees for terminating their tenancy; and high rentals and auxiliary costs that the hawkers have to bear.

The matter was addressed at length in Parliament in November 2018 with the Ministry sharing details, measures and giving assurances to Members of this House that the Ministry will manage or resolve the matter. It has been about a year and four months since then. Hence, I would like to seek updates on the current situation of the SEHC scheme.

I would like to ask whether the Ministry has received any feedback from stall operators against any SEHC operators in 2019. If yes, what is the number of feedback received and what are among the most common ones. Additionally, I would like to seek updates on the number of SEHC island-wide at the present moment. I also would like to know whether the Ministry has conducted any recent survey or study in finding out the level of succession of stall owners operating under the scheme. If there is any, can the Ministry share the findings?

Hawker Centres and Vector Control

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Sir, the decision by the Government to resume building hawker centres is perhaps the most tangible boost to safeguard our hawker food culture and a game-changing move to keep community dining affordable.

These new hawker centres have operated under the Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC) model since 2015. This is a new approach and, understandably, the model would require continual adjustments and evolve into a viable and sustainable model.

I must credit the Ministry and NEA for daring to try a new approach and taking the earlier criticisms of the model in stride, although not all are really fair criticisms. The model was reviewed in 2018 and there has been a number of finetuning and improvements since taking in the feedback from stakeholders and the public.

From my recent conversations with some of the stallholders at Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and the residents there that patronised the hawker centre, most had given me positive reviews for the new food centre. I am sure we can continually improve and finesse the model so that it can better serve the stallholders and residents.

As NEA is now building a second hawker in Bukit Panjang town and within my constituency, I would like to seek an update whether there has been further review of the model and what are the further refinements that we can expect. Also, MEWR has set up two hawker workgroups last year. I would be interested to know what are their thoughts and recommendations so far.

On vector control, last year, dengue cases in Singapore surged beyond 16,000. I was one of those infected as well. There were also 20 deaths, unfortunately. Dengue is endemic in Singapore because of the presence of Aedes mosquitoes, which are the vectors for dengue virus transmission.

Hence, our strategy has very much been focused on vector control, in essence, to prevent Aedes mosquito from breeding as far as possible. This is a long-drawn battle and it requires constant vigilance on the part of everyone. Our environmental condition, especially our warm weather, also makes it conducive for such transmission. Singapore has seen warmer weathers in recent years, especially in 2019. It was, I understand, 0.9°C higher than the past average.

Could the relatively warmer weather be the possible reasons for the surge in dengue cases in recent years? And if that is the case, how will the impact of climate change affect our management of dengue prevention?

Recently, Project Wolbachia was rolled out to help reduce the dengue mosquito population. I commend the NEA for pushing the envelope and leveraging new technologies to tackle this serious threat to our public health. Having been a dengue patient myself last year, I know how it is like to live through the illness and, of course, the concern about fatality. We should spare no effort to minimise the cases of dengue in Singapore, not any less than how we manage COVID-19, and continue to seek new strategies to fight this virus.

Hawker Rental Rebates

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, part of the Stabilisation and Support Package in this Budget is one month's worth of rental waivers for hawker stalls managed by NEA. This will certainly help to alleviate the difficulties experienced by our hawkers due to the reduction in business from the COVID-19 outbreak. Many of these hawkers are worried about the outbreak deepening and prolonging, especially with the news of the virus spread in other countries. The spread will increase the risk of new imported cases from different sources. Would the Ministry consider providing more reliefs, such as more rental rebates, in the event of the outbreak worsening?

New Jobs and Skills for Sustainability

Mr Desmond Choo: The efforts to tackle our environmental changes require significant investment and transformation. We will probably lose some jobs but also create new ones. We will clearly need new skills in diverse areas. Can the Ministry share what are these critical skills needed to support our journey towards a sustainable and climate resilient Singapore?

While we have some expertise, such as environmental engineering in Singapore, this might not be sufficient to fulfil our ambitions. Many of these skills might not be supported by existing education pathways. Furthermore, these are not traditional fields for Singaporean students. How does the Ministry plan to jumpstart and develop this field in our Institutes of Higher Learning? One way is perhaps to attract firms to set up their R&D facilities in Singapore to take advantage of our robust IP framework.

As we move into more recycling, traditional waste management and recycling firms will need to transform. Will the Ministry be able to share what are the new jobs that might be created? What new opportunities will be available to our firms? How would the Ministry support them in their transformation?

Second, the "30-30" food security target has excited many Singaporeans. Opportunities can include R&D, production, financing and entrepreneurship. What is the total economic value that we can generate if we reach our target local production? How many and what type of jobs can we expect to create in the Food Story space? How are we preparing our younger Singaporeans in their education towards working in these food-related industries as the target is only 10 years away?

In our journey to be more sustainable, water and food secure, some workers in traditional industries will be adversely affected. How is the Ministry supporting job re-design and helping these workers to find higher-value work in their current industries?

2.30 pm

The Chairman: Minister Masagos Zulkifli.

The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): Mr Chairman, firstly, let me wish Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and all the engineers in the House today, Happy Engineer's Day.

The United Nations (UN) has rightfully identified climate change as the defining issue of our time. For Singapore, like many small nations, climate change is an existential challenge. We feel its effects today, such as in rising temperatures and frequent extreme weather events. Even the seasonality of Singapore's rainy and dry months is now difficult to predict.

Scientists in the Centre for Climate Research Singapore have projected that by 2100, end of the century, the mean sea level around Singapore may rise up to one metre. Coupled with the frequent and heavy storms also brought about by climate change, low-lying areas of Singapore such as the East Coast may experience more flooding.

For all countries, climate change also threatens access to essential resources like water, food and energy. These affect the security of our nation too.

With this said, our history of overcoming challenges gives me the confidence that we need not despair when facing climate change. We will create innovative solutions for the hardest challenge, putting Singapore in the unique position we enjoy today. This is Singapore's DNA.

Today, I will update on our plans in three key areas to address the challenges of climate change – first, mitigation strategies to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases or GHGs; second, adaptation plans; and third, how we can work together, in our communities and as a nation, to collectively realise a more sustainable Singapore.

With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I request the Clerks to distribute a document to Members?

The Chairman: Yes, please. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Thank you. First, on mitigation. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement are pivotal multilateral agreements to address the global challenge of climate change. It has spurred many countries, including those who are large emitters, to enact laws and transform their economies to meet their carbon commitments. It is therefore in the interest of small island states like Singapore, to support this multilateral framework of cooperation.

For this framework to stand, every country, large or small, must do its share to reduce GHG emissions. Singapore will also do our part.

Last Friday, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean announced that Singapore will enhance our 2030 nationally determined contribution to the Paris Agreement later this year. We will also submit our Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy, which aspires to halve emissions from our peak to 33 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) by 2050, with a view to achieve net zero emissions as soon as possible in the second half of the century.

Halving our emissions, even 30 years from now, is an ambitious target, because Singapore is naturally constrained in alternative energy. This is an attribute recognised even by the UNFCCC. But we will continue to raise our ambitions to limit and reduce carbon emissions over the long term, knowing well enough that it requires transformational change.

We are already ahead of the pack by implementing the carbon tax last year – the first country in Southeast Asia to do so. This is a clear signal to the whole of industry that Singapore is moving towards a low-carbon economy, as we give no exemption.

Mr Louis Ng and Mr Daniel Goh asked about the carbon tax and emissions reporting. The carbon tax, as I mentioned in the past Parliamentary Question, is meant to provide an economy-wide price signal. Hence, only aggregated information will be released. To achieve emissions reductions, rather than scrutinising individual companies, it would be more useful to know which sectors we should concentrate on. The release of individual data could also be commercially sensitive.

What are the major moves that my Ministry will introduce to further reduce our GHG emissions?

First, we will implement a package of comprehensive measures to reduce the emission of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. As Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Louis Ng have pointed out, HFCs can be found as refrigerants in refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, and could leak during installation, maintenance and disposal. Some forms of HFCs trap a much larger amount of heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

Later this year, NEA will launch a training course to train and certify technicians to handle refrigerants properly. From next year, NEA will mandate the proper recovery, reclamation and destruction of spent refrigerants.

With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I display some slides on the screen?

The Chairman: Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: NEA will also introduce a voluntary climate-friendly label to help households identify refrigerators and air-conditioners that use alternative refrigerants with lower global warming potential. In addition, NEA will launch a new grant to support companies who want to make an early switch to more climate-friendly commercial water-cooled chillers. From 2022, we intend to restrict the supply of commercial water-cooled chillers and household refrigerators and air-conditioners that use HFCs with high global warming potential.

To Mr Louis Ng's question, MEWR will initiate a review on our ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol later this year.

Besides HFCs, improving energy efficiency will have a major impact on emissions reduction.

Mr Dennis Tan asked about our progress. We have set an ambitious target to improve our industrial energy efficiency to 1% to 2% every year. Our industries are on track to meet this target, and we will continue to improve our energy efficiency rates.

Last year, NEA announced the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, or MEES, for industrial-chilled water cooling systems. MEES will reduce energy consumption in industrial facilities by at least 245 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually – equivalent to taking more than 20,000 cars off the road.

From 2021, energy-intensive companies, including oil-refining companies, will be required to establish facility-wide energy management systems and conduct energy efficiency opportunities assessments.

In MEWR, we also live by our energy efficiency creed. Let me illustrate this.

We are on track to complete the development of Tuas Nexus by 2027. The Tuas Nexus carries out co-digestion of food waste and used water sludge to generate up to three times more biogas than conventional sludge treatment processes. This biogas will be used to generate electricity to power the plant and excess electricity will be exported back into the grid.

In addition, we will ramp up the generation of solar energy within MEWR.

Mr Louis Ng asked if we can deploy more solar panels on reservoirs. This year, PUB will deploy two 1.5 mega-watt peak (MWp) floating solar systems at Bedok and Lower Seletar Reservoirs. Next year, PUB will deploy the world's largest single floating solar system of 60 mega-watt peak at Tengeh Reservoir. The power generated from this system alone is sufficient to meet the energy of all our water treatment plants at local reservoirs. With this, Singapore's waterworks will be one of the few in the world to be 100% green.

PUB is also making strides towards improving the energy efficiency of NEWater and desalinated water production.

Mr Louis Ng also asked if the Government can provide consumers with rebates for using solar energy. Subsidies, such as rebates, distort the energy markets. Pricing energy right will encourage the growth of renewable energy in a commercially viable manner and incentivise consumers to use electricity efficiently, avoiding wasteful consumption.

Instead of rebates, the Government has streamlined regulations and funded research to support higher deployment of solar.

My Ministry also intends to be exemplary in optimising the water-energy-waste nexus. We will set out to generate sufficient energy from waste incineration and solar photovoltaic systems to power all of my Ministry's needs, especially in the production of water and the projected production of food.

In the long run, it is only with groundbreaking technology that we can make huge leaps in climate mitigation. In the horizon are carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies, and the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel. We will stay abreast of these developments.

Beyond the Ministry, the Public sector as a whole is doing more. Mr Louis Ng asked about our efforts.

In 2017, we launched the Public Sector Sustainability Plan, which charted out our strategies to reduce electricity and water consumption, and achieve Green Mark standards for 100% of our buildings. Ministries and agencies are working hard, and are on track to meet our 2020 targets.

For example, all air-conditioned Government premises should maintain indoor temperatures of 24 degrees centigrade or higher where feasible. All Ministries have also taken the climate action pledge and committed to reducing their plastic, water and electricity consumption. We are reviewing how to bring our plan to the next level.

The Deputy Prime Minister also announced our vision for all vehicles to run on cleaner energy by 2040. The Government will take the lead. From 2023, all new vehicle purchases for Government-owned fleets will be cleaner and greener where feasible. MINDEF, for example, will replace 400 administrative vehicles with hybrids and later, with electric ones when charging infrastructure is ready in 2040.

Together, with net-zero buildings, food waste management, our Army is "green" in more than in their uniforms.

This are but a few examples of what I said earlier in my speech on how the UN Climate Change Framework is shaping climate-conscious behaviours and decisions. We are also reviewing other measures such as the better management of carbon emissions and the use of disposables. More details will be announced later this year.

Mr Chairman, public transport generates up to three times less carbon dioxide than private transport. Hence, our approach is to encourage public transport and green public transport as far as possible. The Land Transport Master Plan 2040 by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) supports this.

This is how Singapore moves to cut GHG emissions – simply drive less. If driving less is, somehow, not an option, motorists can still practise sustainable consumption by choosing cleaner vehicles that emit less GHG and harmful pollutants.

Mr Louis Ng asked about the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES). The VES implemented in 2018 has seen positive results and we have since extended the VES until end 2020. This will complement the enhanced incentives and infrastructure to promote the use of electric vehicles announced at the Budget. We aim to refine VES further, taking into account its impact on motorists' purchasing decisions and advancements in technology.

The transport of goods and services is a major economic activity in Singapore. Commercial vehicles, especially Light Goods Vehicles or LGVs, are key emission sources and pollute our air due to their high mileage and reliance on diesel. To support the shift to cleaner commercial vehicles, we will introduce a new Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme (CVES) for new LGVs, which form the largest proportion of commercial vehicles.

Under the new CVES, the cleanest LGVs will receive a $30,000 incentive, while the most polluting LGVs will incur a $10,000 surcharge. In terms of Total Cost of Ownership, fleet owners will enjoy overall savings when they purchase EVs as opposed to petrol vehicles and even greater savings as compared to diesel vehicles.

2.45 pm

To complement the CVES, we will enhance the Early Turnover Scheme (ETS) from 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023, including expanding the scheme to cover Euro 4 diesel commercial vehicles. The existing ETS will be extended until 31 March 2021.

I have outlined our climate mitigation efforts. Let me now talk about how we will adapt to climate change.

Climate change will bring about more frequent and intense storms, which may result in major flooding, especially in low-lying parts of Singapore. Mr Desmond Choo asked about PUB's plans to mitigate inland floods.

Since 2011, PUB has spent almost $2 billion on drainage works, including major projects like the Bukit Timah Diversion Canal and Stamford Detention Tank. We will invest another $190 million, with six projects commencing this year, including the construction of a detention tank underneath Syed Alwi Road, which will enhance flood protection in the Little India area. Our investments will be complemented with developments in technology, such as short-range radars, to better predict and manage heavier rainfall.

These efforts, however, will not be sufficient with climate change. With climate change, sea levels will rise faster than its natural cycle and along with heavy rains, will overwhelm drainage systems.

Miss Cheng Li Hui and Mr Desmond Choo asked about our whole-of-nation strategy to coordinate coastal protection efforts. I am pleased to announce that PUB will assume the role of the national Coastal Protection Agency from April.

With this new responsibility, one agency, PUB, will study both coastal and inland flooding holistically and develop models to guide our flood protection response.

The investments to undertake coastal and flood protection could cost $100 billion over the next 50 to 100 years. As announced by Deputy Prime Minister in the Budget speech, a Coastal and Flood Protection Fund will be set up within PUB, with an initial funding of $5 billion. The fund will be used in a fiscally sustainable manner to support the substantial capital outlay.

Mr Mohamed Irshad asked about the immediate investments that will be made. Our near-term efforts will focus on studying our coastal areas to ascertain the type, feasibility and extent of measures required. We will phase efforts and start with the City to East Coast stretch and Jurong Island. The funds will also be used to expand and improve our drainage infrastructure to improve flood resilience.

As we embark on coastal protection, we will also identify new opportunities for urban development. For instance, we could reclaim a series of islands offshore, and even connect these islands up by building barrages to create community spaces for Singaporeans and contribute to water resilience. PUB will partner various stakeholders to explore these possibilities.

Mr Dennis Tan highlighted the importance of preserving and building our carbon sinks. We will preserve our green carbon sinks and identify nature-based solutions. For example, planting mangroves can both stabilise our coastline by preventing erosion, while preserving our green lungs and supporting biodiversity. Minister Desmond Lee will elaborate in his speech on Singapore's greening efforts.

Adaptation efforts also involve securing our water supply. Singapore has developed a robust and diversified supply of water, as a result of our early and consistent investments in water infrastructure and research. Along with local catchment and imported water, we will continue to augment our water supply with weather-resilient sources, namely, NEWater and desalinated water.

With the completion of Marina East and Jurong Island desalination plants this year, we will have five desalination plants. Our NEWater production capacity will also increase over the next five years, with the expansion of the Changi NEWater factory and development of Tuas Nexus.

Good water demand management is equally important in complementing efforts in water supply. PUB's water conservation efforts have shown encouraging results, with household water consumption decreasing to 141 litres from 148 litres per person per day in three years. PUB will begin the deployment of 300,000 smart meters next year, as part of efforts to reduce water consumption further to 130 litres per person per day by 2030.

To inspire Singaporeans to continue efforts in water conservation, I am happy to launch the 2020 water conservation campaign. I cannot do it now like the usual way, because of COVID-19.

Today, PUB will kick off with a new video to remind Singaporeans of how far we have come in our water story. I feel touched and proud of our water story when I previewed the video. So will you, when you watch it tonight. It will encourage us, all Singaporeans, not to take our clean drinking water for granted.

Besides rising sea levels and water resilience, Mr Amrin Amin, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Desmond Choo have rightfully pointed out that warmer temperatures caused by climate change can also affect the everyday lives of Singaporeans, because it leads to an increasing mosquito population. In fact, warmer temperature is one of the factors that led to the surge in dengue cases last year.

Project Wolbachia is a tool which NEA is piloting to manage the mosquito population. Mr Louis Ng conveyed feedback that the initial surge of male Aedes mosquitoes released under Project Wolbachia causes discomfort to residents.

I hope to reassure residents that these male mosquitoes do not bite or transmit diseases – I say this in Parliament – and ask residents to be patient and bear with the initial surge. And I thank Mr Louis Ng for jointly spreading this message with us.

I am pleased to say that the Project Wolbachia trials have achieved up to 90% suppression of the Aedes aegypti population within the Yishun and Tampines test sites. We are considering the expansion of Project Wolbachia to more neighbourhoods, in consultation with NEA's Dengue Expert Advisory Panel.

To do this, NEA has set up a hi-tech mosquito farm which optimises mosquito production, the sorting of male mosquitoes from females and the transportation of mosquitoes for release. We are scaling up the facility's production to five million male mosquitoes a week, over the next few years, to battle dengue. This is a new and important means to future-proof ourselves against the faster breeding of mosquitoes, as a result of higher temperatures brought by climate change.

Just as NEA is establishing mosquito farms, Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is transforming food farms.

Food, like water, is a resource that can be disrupted by climate change. In Asia alone, we expect an additional 250 million mouths to feed by 2030. Yet, the amount of arable land could fall by 5% due to climate change and environmental degradation. Singapore, which currently imports more than 90% of our food, will be vulnerable.

In the face of these changes, we have developed three food baskets to ensure our food security by diversifying food sources, growing food overseas and growing local. We have designated 2020 as the Year of Singapore Food story to focus our national effort and attention.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked about the Government's success in food source diversification and its role in mitigating price hikes during supply disruptions.

Today, Singapore's food imports come from over 170 countries and regions. This did not come by chance, but is a result of SFA's continuous efforts. While the Government does our part, we require the industry to also be pro-active in diversifying supply sources to enhance business resiliency. For example, since last year, SFA has introduced requirements for egg importers to adopt plans to mitigate the impact of any supply disruptions.

With a well-diversified food supply, Singapore can reduce the impact of food supply shortages and price changes. However, consumers need to be mindful that the price of any particular food item is determined by a combination of factors, including import prices, exchange rates and profit margins which suppliers can command.

Let me elaborate on our plans to produce food locally, enhance food safety and encourage Singaporeans to support local produce.

Miss Cheng Li Hui and Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked about how the Government is helping the local agri-food industry grow. Our vision is to locally produce 30% of Singapore's nutritional needs by 2030, but from less than 10% today.

As a small country with limited space, our land use faces many competing needs. We have dedicated less than 1% of our land for agriculture today. Within such tight land constraints, the "30 by 30" vision is highly ambitious, especially if we must achieve it within the same 1%.

Yet, having visited some of our new-tech farms, I am optimistic that it is achievable if we invest in an innovative agri-food sector.

Since 2017, SFA has been awarding agriculture land, through a competitive land tender basis, to agri-food companies with promising technologies. One such company is Green Harvest, a local vegetable farm. The farm uses modern greenhouse growing techniques which mitigates the impact of unfavourable weather conditions. We are helping them to adopt more technology and, with experience, we hope they can produce multiple times more vegetables than average.

This year, SFA will study how the larger Lim Chu Kang agriculture area can be planned and redeveloped to enhance our food production. This study will consider feedback from farmers for centralised facilities and services to reduce the cost of food production. The study will also introduce circular economy principles, so that the by-product of one farm can be used as an input for another. SFA will work with farms, including successful tenders in recent land sales exercises, to work towards an exciting vision for Lim Chu Kang.

SFA's plans for Lim Chu Kang will complement the development of the Agri-Food Innovation Park (AFIP), which we announced last year as a high-tech agri-food cluster in Sungei Kadut. The food production innovations developed in AFIP can scale up in Lim Chu Kang to contribute towards our "30 by 30" vision.

SFA will also look to unlock the potential of farming at sea. Last week, I accompanied President Halimah to visit Eco-Ark. Eco-Ark's CEO Mr Leow Ban Tat, who had decades of experience in marine and off-shore engineering, including in Keppel, applied principles of oil rigs construction to that of a floating fish farm. He worked with his team to conceptualise, design and integrate a floating platform with closed-containment aquaculture technologies that treat influent sea water used to cultivate fish. These technologies mitigate the effects of pollution and algae blooms that threaten both farms and our marine environment. Ideas like this is how we will transform fish farming practices so that they are more productive, sustainable and climate-resilient.

Besides the use of technology, SFA will study the expansion of sustainable fish farming, where applicable, in the deeper southern waters of Singapore. We will ensure that such aquaculture is productive and environmentally responsible, such as shown by Barramundi Asia, Singapore's first and only deep-sea fish farm. SFA will work with stakeholders to study this.

We are supporting different modes of fish farming. Where water quality is good, farms can carry out deep sea farming. Where it is not, farms can adopt closed-containment technologies. Where there can be synergies with land-based water and waste systems, land-based aquaculture can be conducted.

Like land, every space at sea can be used for food production but must be judiciously managed.

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Mr Gan Thiam Poh also asked how the Government is helping local farms remain competitive. Over the years, our economic agencies have been supporting local farms in their overseas expansion. Growing their businesses overseas allow farms to tap on land and manpower, lower production costs, and break into new markets.

I encourage our farms to take a leaf from the food manufacturing industry, where companies like Tee Yih Jia Food anchor their expertise locally while expanding operations overseas. Some of our farms, like Apollo, have already done so.

These food products produced overseas, while not "Made in Singapore", should be marketed as "Made by Singapore", since they uphold the same reputation for high quality and standards as those produced domestically.

To complement these efforts, SFA, Enterprise Singapore and the industry will be developing Clean-Green Standards for urban farms which harness resource-efficient technologies to produce food in cleaner environments. They will study ways to incorporate information that more people are concerned about, such as the carbon footprint of food they produce. The standards will serve as a mark of quality assurance that our farms can use to differentiate their products in the market.

Let me move on to incentives and funding. Over the past five years, SFA has committed $38 million from the Agriculture Productivity Fund, or APF, to support more than 100 farms in their productivity-enhancing investments. I am happy to share that the APF will be extended till the end of 2020. Beyond this, we will review how we can expand our support for technology test-bedding, adoption and resource efficiency in our farms.

New innovations to produce food more productively and sustainably are also needed. The first research grant call launched by SFA and A*STAR last December under the $144 million Singapore Food Story R&D Programme will facilitate this.

One theme under this research programme is the production of novel foods, like alternative proteins. Traditional meat production methods are often land and water intensive, and generate high levels of emissions. Today, alternative proteins, such as Impossible and Quorn, are poised to become game-changers. I hope Members will enjoy the alternative protein food items from Tee Yih Jia Food and Empress served at today's tea break after our speeches.

Miss Cheng Li Hui asked about food safety of novel foods. We will ensure that only novel foods that are safe for consumption are introduced in Singapore. Last year, SFA implemented a new regulatory framework to require companies to seek its approval and undergo a scientific pre-market assessment before placing novel foods in the market. This framework facilitates the sale of alternative proteins in Singapore while ensuring their safety. Companies, such as local start-up Shiok Meats, who is looking to produce cell-cultured shrimp, will be able to benefit from this framework.

To support the assessment of novel food, SFA will establish an international expert working group to provide scientific advice on food safety.

Beyond food supply, we must not also forget our fundamental mission, that is to ensure that the food we eat is safe. SFA takes a serious approach towards upholding high food safety and hygiene standards. Since its formation, SFA has conducted more than 5,200 inspections in 2019 and taken more than 1,600 enforcement actions against errant operators.

SFA will be introducing new measures to safeguard food safety. Premises which pose higher food safety risks, such as caterers and central kitchens, will be required to install closed-circuit television cameras. This enables them to monitor food safety performance and provide evidence in the event of food safety allegations.

Enhanced measures will also be targeted at businesses that cater to vulnerable groups. Food businesses catering to preschools, kindergartens and nursing homes will be required to maintain food retention samples, which will facilitate investigations during food-borne outbreaks.

From 2021, SFA will also introduce a single unified framework to license and recognise all food establishments. SFA will award a longer licence duration and a higher recognition to food establishments which uphold high food safety and hygiene standards. This way, SFA can re-prioritise resources to focus on checks to ensure compliance with food safety requirements.

Mr Louis Ng asked about the introduction of a Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.

MEWR is currently working on a legislation to enhance our food safety regime. As part of this, we are looking to introduce a legislation to facilitate food donation.

Any legislation will need to strike a balance between facilitating food donation and ensuring food safety. We will be happy to work with Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Chairman, let me conclude my last section of my speech by touching on the role of all Singaporeans in taking climate action. As the Government, we are providing leadership in tackling climate change. We do this by enhancing our climate pledge under the Paris Agreement and working with the industry to guide their transformation to a low-carbon economy. While the Government can lead on sustainability, the people must champion its cause.

For instance, Singaporeans can make conscious climate-friendly choices in our daily essentials, such as food. Locally-produced food is of high quality, incurs less carbon miles, lasts longer and tastes good. By eating local, Singaporeans are making an environmentally sustainable choice. In the process, we support our farmers by choosing food that is grown in Singapore.

Since 2017, SFA has partnered Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (SAFEF) to organise farmers' markets to raise awareness of local produce. Last month, I unveiled a new logo which Singapore farmers can soon use to help Singaporeans identify local produce.

The community can also support local production by participating in community farming projects. For example, nearly 80% of NParks' Community in Bloom gardens grow edibles.

There is also potential for companies and the community to engage in commercial urban farming that involves the community. Since the launch of the pilot rooftop farm, Citiponics in Ang Mo Kio, interest from the public – as Er Dr Lee Bee Wah mentioned just now – has increased towards urban farming in community spaces. We will provide more opportunities for urban rooftop farming. In the coming months, SFA will tender 16 rooftop spaces on HDB multi-storey car parks across the island, totalling over 30,000 sqm.

As we grow our agri-sector, let us get involved in growing food in our own backyards.

Now, let us talk about electrical appliances. Take refrigerators. They are amongst the top three highest energy-consuming household appliances today. However, many households continue to purchase 1 to 2 ticks refrigerators, partly due to the higher upfront costs of energy-efficient models, without considering the savings from electricity consumption over the long term. Similarly, showering takes up a significant proportion of water consumption, yet many households are choosing the less water-efficient fittings.

To help households living in 1- to 3-room HDB flats invest in energy and water-efficient models, the Government will introduce a $24.8 million Climate-Friendly Household Package. These households will receive a once-off $150 voucher to purchase refrigerator models approved by NEA that have 3 ticks and above. Not only will this help fight climate change, households can benefit from electricity cost savings of up to $60 annually.

We will also extend the "Switch and Save – use LED" programme launched in 2018 to all 3-room HDB flats. In addition, we will give all 1 to 3-room HDB households a $50 voucher to offset the cost of changing their shower fittings to more water-efficient 3-tick models.

If all eligible households make the switch, we can collectively reduce emissions equivalent to taking around 12,600 cars off the road and save up to 400 million gallons of water annually.

Next, let me focus on the ground-up efforts of our youths and citizens to address climate change.

I commend our youths who are channelling their passions into positive change for the environment. During the Year of Climate Action in 2018, more than two climate-related activities per day were conducted, and youths played a big part in them. Recently, a group of 50 youths participated in the Environmental Track of the Youth Action Challenge organised by MCCY, submitting projects ranging from waste reduction to green technologies.

We work together with these youths to deliver some of these ideas into reality. To empower our youths with knowledge and experience on sustainability, my Ministry is working with MOE and the National Youth Council (NYC). We want to introduce more sustainability programmes in schools and community facilities. Even Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) @ Coney will be designed to be a eco-experience for our youths to learn and enjoy.

The Government will work with schools to introduce initiatives which will integrate green infrastructure, sustainability programmes and curriculum design to inculcate positive environmental values in our youths, like ones done in Mee Toh School.

Another group of Singaporeans whose efforts I would like to recognise are those that are willing to share their experiences and ideas on sustainability.

Last year, my Ministry convened our first Citizens' Workgroup on recycling, where 48 participants joined us on a month-long journey of co-creation. We will be setting up two more Citizens' Workgroups this year, focusing on more issues that Singaporeans care about.

One Workgroup will start the conversation on how we can increase demand for local produce. I invite interested members of the public to visit our website at foodstory.sg to find out more about the Workgroup and sign up for it. Another Workgroup on reducing the excessive use of disposables will also be set up.

As we have done with the recycling workgroup, we will carefully consider and work with these workgroups to realise some of their recommendations.

It is our aspiration for Singapore as a nation to practise sustainable development and put sustainability at the centre of the way we live, work and play.

At Budget, the Deputy Prime Minister spoke about the Ministry of National Development's (MND) Green Towns Programme, which injects sustainability into the infrastructure of HDB towns. Beyond the look and feel of housing estates, MEWR will introduce initiatives that will encourage Singaporeans to live and breathe sustainability. Let me elaborate.

We have come far in the last 20 years since the development of Punggol as Singapore's first Eco Town. We have a vision to transform all HDB towns into Eco Towns.

First, as we rejuvenate neighbourhoods, we will create more sustainable community touchpoints. We will build sustainable hawker centres that strive towards zero waste. Second, we will introduce community-based programmes that foster sustainability initiatives on the ground. Third, we will develop indicators for towns to track their progress and benchmark against national sustainability targets in carbon, energy, water and recycling.

This will drive home the message that the effort of each and every Singaporean counts.

I am happy that Tampines, Choa Chu Kang and Nee Soon Towns are coming on board to become Singapore's Eco Towns. Let me share some initial efforts.

In Tampines, we are piloting new sustainability projects which can be replicated in other towns. The first project, "Sustainability @ Tampines Park", will be Singapore's first community-based circular eco-system for food production. Residents from 12 HDB blocks will be segregating food waste generated in their homes, to be fed to black soldier fly larvae. The larvae will produce fertiliser for a new vertical vegetable farm, and the larvae will be fed to tilapia cultivated in the Tampines Park pond. Not only will this project reduce food waste, it will simultaneously strengthen the community's food resilience.

The second project in a different part of Tampines is the introduction of "Eco Boards". Eco Boards are low-energy digital boards that provide block-level information on water and energy use to residents. Together with Singapore Power and Temasek, we plan to build Eco Boards in several sites across Tampines Town. These Eco Boards will enhance the residents' awareness of their resource usage and illustrate the impact of green infrastructure such as solar panels.

More details on the three Eco Towns will be announced over the coming months. I believe that the success of these Eco Towns will inspire other towns to begin their own journey of transformation towards sustainability.

To build our sustainable Singapore together with Singaporeans, Deputy Prime Minister announced at Budget the establishment of a Singapore Eco Fund. Mr Mohamed Irshad and Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked for details of this fund.

We are happy to announce that the $50 million Singapore Eco Fund will be made available later this year to the people, private and public sector, to support the co-creation of a sustainable Singapore. We welcome project proposals which involve the community and can deliver measurable impacts on our sustainability goals. My Ministry will also set up an SG Eco Office to co-ordinate sustainability projects across Singapore.

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Mr Chairman, let me conclude. When we started our journey as a nation, our founding fathers gave us a vision of being the cleanest and greenest city in Southeast Asia. Even for this, we were inspired to do it together. Mr Lee Kuan Yew said in 1968 at the launch of the inaugural "Keep Singapore Clean" campaign, "For only a people with high social and educational standards can maintain a clean and green city". And he went on to say, "Only a people proud of their community performance, feeling for the well-being of their fellow citizens, can keep up high personal and public standards of hygiene."

We are now on our journey towards a sustainable and climate friendly Singapore. It is a journey that we can only make together.

Prime Minister, at a tree-planting event in 2014, said, "But we also have to do more than just plant trees; we also have to make the whole of the environment sustainable, friendly to people, and also for Singaporeans to be friendly to the environment".

It is for this reason that the Government will place sustainability at the core of everything we do. However, only by living and practising sustainability together can we mitigate the impacts of climate change and secure the resources needed to take Singapore into the future. Let us all play our part and work together, as one people, to ensure that Singapore remains a liveable home for our future generations.

Mr Chairman, I will now hand over to Senior Minister of State Dr Amy Khor to address other strategies that will make Singapore a clean, sustainable and liveable home. [Applause.]

The Senior Minister of State for Health and the Environment and Water Resources (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan): Mr Chairman, as Minister Masagos said earlier, we each have a duty to take climate action and safeguard Singapore for our future generations.

This was why we designated 2019 as Singapore's Year Towards Zero Waste – to mobilise every Singaporean to do their part towards a Zero Waste nation and a circular economy. To Mr Chen Show Mao's question, it has been a busy and successful year. We engaged more than 670,000 Singaporeans and together with our 3P (People, Public and Private) partners, organised almost 2,000 Zero Waste programmes and activities. We supported ground-up initiatives through the "Towards Zero Waste Grant" and launched the "Say YES to Waste Less" campaign. All these efforts helped to instil in Singaporeans the 3Rs of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

We also made tangible steps to lay the foundation for Singapore's transition to a circular economy. We charted out Singapore's inaugural Zero Waste Masterplan and set ourselves an ambitious target to reduce the amount of waste sent to Semakau Landfill by 30% by 2030.

We can close our resource loops, just as we have done for our Water Story. In fact, we already recycle 99% of our ferrous metal waste and construction and demolition waste. As shared in Budget 2020, we are also making good progress turning incineration ash into construction material we proudly call NEWSand. We will begin trials to test potential NEWSand materials in road construction along Tanah Merah Coast Road later this year. Going forward, NEA will launch a Request for Information by mid-2020 for a commercial-scale facility to produce NEWSand.

Achieving our Zero Waste vision is a whole-of-nation effort. Last year, we convened our first ever Citizens' Workgroup to co-create solutions to #RecycleRight. One follow-up project is the redesigning of the blue recycling bin to be more user-friendly. Their ideas include a transparent panel on the bin body, eye-level labels with #RecycleRight information and tailored deposit holes. MEWR and NEA will support the Workgroup members to fine-tune and trial their prototype. Ms Joan Pereira may also be pleased to know that NEA has already successfully trialled the use of bigger recycling bins, which are collected by side-loader trucks. These will be progressively deployed across Singapore by end-2022.

As Mr Daniel Goh highlighted, grassroots efforts are also important in encouraging households to #RecycleRight. Our Public Waste Collectors work with the grassroots to organise Cash-for-Trash programmes regularly at convenient locations. NEA is also considering a pilot "recycling bin contamination rate" competition involving several Residents' Networks.

The private sector has also come on board. F&N Foods partnered NEA in the "Recycle N Save" pilot. Eleven Reverse Vending Machines have been rolled out and we will deploy 39 more by mid-2020. I am encouraged by the positive response with over two million containers collected since the launch last October. We will continue to refine the pilot.

Mr Dennis Tan and Mr Louis Ng spoke about reducing disposables through a ban or a charge. We believe that we should take a pragmatic approach and find an inclusive solution that works for Singapore and Singaporeans, taking into account our local context. For example, degradable bags provide little benefits in Singapore as we incinerate all our household waste. On a life cycle basis, single-use paper and degradable bags also consume large amount of resources like water and land. Hence, instead of pursuing a substitution strategy, we should focus on inculcating the right values. Singaporeans' actions could then be motivated by a consciousness to safeguard the environment.

This is why, in the spirit of Singapore Together, NEA will convene a Citizens' Workgroup later this year to address the excessive consumption of all disposables, including Styrofoam and single-use bags. We welcome citizens to deliberate the idea of a nation-wide charge for single-use bags as well as other measures, such as campaigns and education. We will take the Workgroup's recommendations seriously and work with participants to implement them where feasible. I invite Singaporeans to register for the Workgroup later this month.

Among the supermarkets, FairPrice has taken the lead with their plastic bag charge trial last year, complemented with educational efforts. The trial has shown promising results, with majority of FairPrice's customers receptive towards a plastic bag charge. I commend FairPrice for its leadership and welcome this decision to expand the trial to 25 outlets for one year. I am heartened that Prime has also implemented a plastic bag charge in four of their outlets. I call on other supermarkets and retailers to also pilot this and urge Singaporeans to support these efforts.

My Ministry is taking the lead to introduce enabling regulations to transit to a circular economy. Last September, we passed the Resource Sustainability Act to address three priority waste streams – packaging waste, e-waste, and food waste.

Packaging waste makes up a third of the total domestic waste disposed of in Singapore. The amount disposed of will only grow as Singaporeans embrace new trends in online shopping and food delivery. We need to find ways to manage packaging waste more sustainably.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Mohamed Irshad asked for our plans on this. This year, we will introduce regulations to mandate the reporting of packaging data and development of 3R plans by producers of packaged products, as well as retailers and supermarkets. This will make companies more aware of their packaging use and encourage them to optimise it, thereby minimising waste and also reducing business costs. Obligated companies will start collecting the data from 1 July this year, for submission to NEA early next year.

As this is the first time we are implementing such a reporting requirement, NEA is partnering the Singapore Manufacturing Federation on a joint capability development programme that will support companies in fulfilling their new obligations. Companies will be offered workshops and training courses to familiarise themselves with the reporting framework. Companies can also exchange best practices in sustainable packaging waste management and prepare themselves for the upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework.

Under the EPR framework, producers are responsible for collecting and recycling their product packaging. We are bringing forward the EPR for packaging waste by implementing it in phases. In the first phase, we will build upon the reporting framework and the Reverse Vending Machine trials to implement a Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) for beverage containers by 2022.

In a typical DRS, producers pay for the system to take back used beverage containers. Consumers get a refund when returning empty beverage containers at designated return points. Countries like Norway and Germany have implemented a DRS and achieved high recycling rates of over 80% for beverage containers. We are studying international best practices and will conduct industry consultations and a Request for Information for the DRS later this year.

The DRS is also an idea proposed by the Citizens' Workgroup on #RecycleRight. Workgroup members will partner NEA to work through the DRS implementation, such as co-designing surveys to optimise outcomes of the DRS. Together with our industry stakeholders and Singaporeans, we will design a DRS suitable for Singapore.

The DRS will aggregate post-consumer plastic waste, such as PET beverage bottles. This will supply a steady feedstock to drive demand for local recycling capabilities. With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I display some slides, please.

The Chairman: Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: We have been working closely with our economic agencies to actively engage interested companies to set up mechanical recycling plants for post-consumer plastic waste here. PET bottles and the like can then be processed locally into plastic pellets, which can in turn be used to make new products. We will announce details when ready.

But not all plastic waste is suitable for mechanical recycling, for example, contaminated plastic bags. To treat these, we are also pursuing chemical recycling solutions. Chemical recycling can potentially convert these plastics into higher-value products, like pyrolysis oil, which is a potential feedstock for Singapore's petrochemical sector. If successful, this will move us closer to both our goals of being a Zero Waste nation and a Low-Carbon economy.

We hope that this will become – get ready for this – "NEWOil", and strengthen our resource resilience, just as we have done with NEWater and aim to do so with NEWSand. We are working with EDB and industry partners to look into establishing a pilot chemical recycling plant that will contribute to and help anchor the chemical recycling value chain in Singapore within the next few years.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Mohamed Irshad asked about our progress to address e-waste, which is our second priority waste stream.

NEA has started registering producers under the e-waste EPR framework, which will take effect next year. Producers have also recently begun collecting data on the amount of regulated electrical and electronic products supplied in Singapore, for submission to NEA early next year.

NEA will launch a tender this month to appoint the Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) operator, a key stakeholder in the e-waste EPR framework. NEA is now pre-qualifying organisations for the tender, and aims to appoint the PRS operator by the second half of this year. This will give the operator sufficient lead time to establish its collection and treatment network and organise public outreach programmes.

Similar to packaging waste, the e-waste EPR framework will finance and drive local e-waste recycling capabilities. TES-B, a new lithium-ion battery recycling facility will be completed in the coming months. EWR2 and SMC Industrial are also planning to build two recycling facilities dedicated to large household appliances, ICT equipment and batteries. They will be completed by mid-2020 and mid-2022 respectively. Together, the three new facilities will be able to process more than 50,000 tonnes of e-waste per year when fully operational. With these additions, Singapore will be ready to treat our e-waste collected under the EPR system.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Mr Mohamed Irshad spoke about food waste, another major waste stream with high generation tonnage and low recycling rates.

Last year, I announced that from 2024, owners and occupiers of commercial and industrial premises that generate large amounts of food waste will be required to segregate their food waste for treatment. Owners and occupiers of new buildings will also be required to treat their food waste on-site.

These requirements will apply to shopping malls and hotels with more than 3,000 sqm of F&B area, including function area for hotels; as well as industrial premises that either house at least one food manufacturer of more than 750 sqm, or are above 20,000 sqm and have more than 20 food tenants.

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NEA is including these thresholds in the Code of Practice on Environmental Health, to ensure that from 2021 onwards, obligated owners and operators will allocate space for on-site food waste treatment systems in their development plans.

To support premises to prepare for the mandatory requirements, NEA is developing a guidebook on best practices and case studies on the implementation of food waste segregation and treatment.

Segregating food waste from the other waste streams will make it easier to maintain cleanliness in premises.

Cleanliness and hygiene is a first line of defence against evolving public health threats. Seventeen years ago, when we were battling SARS, we instituted regular "spring cleaning" of our hawker centres to safeguard environmental hygiene and curb the spread of such diseases.

Last month, in response to COVID-19, we launched the SG Clean campaign to rally Singaporeans to keep Singapore clean and to safeguard public health. At the individual level, we call on Singaporeans to practise good personal hygiene and social responsibility through the "7 Habits of Good Public Hygiene". Concurrently, NEA is working with Government agencies and business premises to step up public hygiene standards. We want our hawker centres, public transport nodes, schools, retail malls, shops and various premises to receive the "SG Clean" quality mark.

SG Clean seeks to turn the current crisis into an opportunity, by uplifting the standards of public hygiene and sustaining them. It is to be a whole-of-nation movement to instill a national "keep clean culture" for the long term, beyond the battle with COVID-19. We will need to shift from the current top-down compliance-focused approach towards a more collective approach, where all stakeholders take accountability and ownership to proactively achieve high standards of cleanliness in Singapore.

The SG Clean effort is needed even if our regular surveys indicate that we are mostly doing well in keeping Singapore clean. In the last two years, we witnessed multiple incidents of gastroenteritis linked to contaminated environments, including at pre-schools and nursing homes. These incidents underscore the importance of environmental hygiene. So last August, even before COVID-19, NEA convened an interdisciplinary technical committee to develop a set of national baseline cleaning standards for premises. NEA is currently consulting with stakeholders to further develop sector-specific standards.

To catalyse this transformation, we will amend the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) to introduce mandatory baseline cleaning standards later this year. These standards will comprise a regime for proactive and thorough cleaning, as well as disinfection, at prescribed frequencies. This will include the oft-neglected "back of house" areas such as bin centres.

As part of the EPHA amendment, we will place greater accountability on premises managers for the cleanliness of their premises. They will be required to appoint a Designated Person to assist them to develop an environmental sanitation programme and advise on measures to remedy any lapses. We will be mindful to calibrate the standards to minimise compliance costs.

We will work with sectoral leads to progressively implement the new requirements from 2021, starting with higher-risk premises with high footfall and immuno-vulnerable occupants, such as childcare centres, schools, eldercare facilities and hawker centres.

We do not know how long COVID-19 will last. We are entering a new situation, a new normal, where enhanced personal hygiene habits and social responsibility will have to be an integral part of our lives. Let us work together to make SG Clean our new way of life.

SG Clean and our fight against dengue go hand-in-hand, as we remove stagnant water and keep our environment clean and litter-free. In 2019, there were nearly 16,000 reported dengue cases, with 20 deaths. This year, the Aedes mosquito population remains high, and indeed we are concerned about the increasing number of cases of the less common dengue virus serotype 3, or DENV-3. We must be careful as Singapore has not seen a DENV-3 outbreak in almost three decades, and population immunity to DENV-3 is low.

Let me assure Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Ms Sylvia Lim that we are addressing these risks through a multi-pronged dengue management approach. First, NEA conducts comprehensive surveillance of the mosquito population via more than 64,000 Gravitraps nation-wide. This allows NEA to target its operations early and prioritise areas with higher mosquito population. Second, NEA leverages technology, such as using drones to aid inspections or apply insecticide in hard-to-reach places. Third, NEA shares data on dengue clusters and areas with higher mosquito population publicly on its website and myENV App. This facilitates early community intervention and pre-emptive measures.

Let me emphasise here, that whatever new approaches we take cannot substitute the need for public vigilance and collective action to suppress mosquito breeding and prevent dengue. I strongly urge all Singaporeans, young and old, to take proactive measures to protect yourselves and your loved ones. Actively practise the "7 Habits of Good Public Hygiene" and "Mozzie Wipe-out".

I would like to thank all our cleaners who have worked extra hard to keep SG Clean. We can all show our support for the cleaners by playing our part too. At hawker centres for instance, we can do so by eating from our trays and returning them, as Mr Alex Yam has rightly pointed out. We have achieved a tray return rate of 62% on average at our Productive Hawker Centres, double that of other hawker centres. This was achieved through a suite of efforts such as implementing salient reminders, providing strategically-located Automated Tray Return Stations, and ensuring that trays are clean and dry for use. We will continue working with stakeholders to promote tray return at all our hawker centres. This will also alleviate the cleaners’ workload so that they can focus their efforts on maintaining general cleanliness.

As custodians of our much loved hawker culture, we will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that affordable and good hawker food can continue to be a mainstay in Singapore.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Mr Amrin Amin, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap spoke about new hawker centres and the SEHCs. Of the 20 new centres we are planning to build by 2027, seven are already in operation. Ten more are currently in the design or construction stage, and we are working out details for the remaining three. The next centres to open are Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre in end-2020, and Fernvale Hawker Centre and Market in early 2021. NEA will tender out these two centres to socially-conscious enterprise. These operators provide active management to build up clientele and vibrancy at hawker centres, such as through curating food mix and programming.

Currently, there are seven hawker centres under the Socially-Conscious Enterprise Hawker Centre, or SEHC, model, and most have done well. Nonetheless, we will constantly review and improve the model. When evaluating tender proposals for operating future hawker centres, NEA will give greater emphasis to footfall, vibrancy, and sustaining the hawker trade. We will also assess operators' performance in maintaining high footfall and stall occupancy. In the past year, NEA introduced the Staggered Rent Scheme, and extended the Productive Hawker Centre grant to stallholders at SEHCs. NEA also reviewed the contracts between operators and stallholders to better safeguard stallholders' welfare, and required operators to conduct regular Hawkers’ Feedback Groups.

To Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap's question about stallholders’ feedback, these are usually on what more operators can do to improve vibrancy, attract footfall and help stallholders with their operations. All in, these measures serve to ensure that the SEHC model continues to benefit residents, and support stallholders at the same time.

I assure our hawkers that we will always look out for them. As part of the Stabilisation and Support Package announced during Budget 2020, we will provide a one-month rental waiver, with a minimum sum of $200, to all stallholders in hawker centres managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators. This will help them with their operating costs during the current COVID-19 situation. Stallholders will receive 50% rental waiver this month, and 25% in April and May. This will benefit about 14,000 cooked food and market stallholders. About one third of the stallholders, whose monthly rentals are below $200, will in fact enjoy more than one month of rental waiver. We share Ms Joan Pereira's concern – we will monitor the situation and are prepared to provide further assistance if required.

Nonetheless, I am heartened to see the resilience of our stallholders. At Chinatown Complex Market, the stallholders are working hard to achieve the SG Clean quality mark for their stalls, and are even organising a promotion event this weekend. So do show them your support! It is okay to, you know, gain a few calories or inches.

Last year, we also facilitated the formation of two Workgroups, which Mr Liang Eng Hwa spoke about, to co-create solutions to key issues facing our hawker trade and culture. I am pleased to note that even before the Workgroups submit their recommendations, we are already adopting some of their ideas.

For instance, we have already implemented one of their ideas, the Hawkers' Development Programme (HDP). Classes start next month, and I encourage aspiring hawkers to apply.

The Workgroup also suggested fostering a strong hawkers’ network and facilitating hawker-to-hawker sharing. Following the positive feedback for the inaugural Hawkers' Seminar held last year, we will support the Federation of Merchants’ Associations, Singapore to organise this Hawkers' Seminar as an annual event.

Another Workgroup idea that we are working on is a series of hawker awards to recognise hawkers’ efforts and achievements. We will share details on the awards and nomination process later.

A key challenge that the Workgroup raised was the physically demanding nature of the hawker trade. We had launched the Hawkers' Productivity Grant (HPG) in 2017 to help stallholders adopt kitchen automation equipment. Close to $1.5 million has been disbursed to 526 cooked food stallholders. You might have tried the ayam penyet by Mr Abdul Rahman Bin Suradi. He tapped on the HPG to buy a multi-function food processor to prepare his chilli sauce. Now he needs only a quarter of the time and can ensure the correct consistency and quality. With the time saved, he can serve more customers.

To help more hawkers improve their productivity, I am pleased to announce that we have taken in the Workgroup's suggestion to enhance the HPG. From 9 March 2020, we will expand the HPG to market stalls, and the scope of supportable items will be broadened beyond kitchen automation to include service innovation, such as queue management systems. We will also extend the HPG, which would have ended in October this year, to March 2023. Mr Chairman, in Mandarin please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Hawkers are the heart and soul of our hawker centres. To help our stallholders tide over the COVID-19 situation, we will provide one-month of rental waiver, with the minimum sum of $200, to all stallholders in our hawker centres. Stallholders will receive 50% rental waiver this month and 25% in April and May.

We have also listened to feedback from hawkers and will be enhancing the Hawkers' Productivity Grant to help more hawkers adopt productivity solutions. From the 9 March 2020, market stallholders will also be able to apply for the HPG, and a broader range of items will be supported, such as queue management systems. We will also extend the HPG to March 2023.

(In English): Today, as is fast becoming customary of MEWR's COS, besides Minister's treat of a meatless satay and gyoza from Impossible Meat, I have arranged for some hawker delights to be served in the Members' Room. I urge all of you to tuck into these drool-worthy eats, if you have not done so.

The kentang and sardine epok are from Kalsom Kuih Muih Curry Puff at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, lovingly handmade by Mdm Kalsom Kamis and Mr Zaidi Bin Zainal and are simply sedap! I know because I have tried it.

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Also, try the exquisite cakes from The Headless Baker at Ghim Moh Hawker Centre – you might just fall head over heels for them! This is a new Incubation Stall run by Ms Amber Pong, who used to work as a pastry chef in Melbourne.

Building a sustainable and climate-resilient Singapore for ourselves and for future generations is not only about addressing our challenges. As Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Mr Mohamed Irshad and Mr Desmond Choo pointed out, it also brings economic opportunities for our companies and creates good jobs for Singaporeans.

Local companies can leverage sustainability as a competitive advantage to export their innovative solutions and grow beyond our shores. An example is Orinno Technology Pte Ltd, one of NEA’s key partners in Project Wolbachia. NEA and Orinno have jointly developed innovative Wolbachia-Aedes solutions, and have even filed five patents! Not only has Orinno played an important role in advancing Singapore’s public health research, they have also gone on to export these solutions, such as to Thailand and Australia.

Through upskilling and technology adoption, more than 45,000 people will benefit from higher value jobs in the environmental services, water and agri-food sectors over the next five to 10 years.

Let me share about Mr Soh Han Hwee, who started 17 years ago as a Site Supervisor in cleaning services company Horsburgh. He believes in constantly upskilling oneself and has completed over 20 courses from cleaning, work-at-height, productivity management, risk management, Leadership & People Management courses, and the list goes on! Through his training, Mr Soh has been promoted to become an Operations Manager and now has more than a hundred people under his supervision.

As we move towards a risk-calibrated co-regulation approach, we will support companies and entire industries to build up their competencies and create higher value jobs. Just as how the Water Efficiency Management Plan created Water Efficiency Manager roles in companies, strengthening our environmental sanitation and food hygiene will also create demand for higher-skilled roles, such as the cross-functional Environmental Control Officers or ECOs, and Food Hygiene Officers (FHOs).

NEA will be enhancing the competencies of ECOs who are currently engaged at construction sites as advisers of good environmental practices. Enhanced vocational training will benefit approximately 2,600 ECOs by equipping them with up-to-date skills to better plan and implement a full array of measures including vector control, environmental sanitation and waste management.

We will further review the ECO scheme as a competency-based vocation and broaden their work areas beyond construction sites to more premises types, like shopping malls. In time, ECOs will be valued as certified experts who are well-versed in multiple aspects of environmental management. They are leaders who can drive and raise environmental standards of the premises they oversee. In some ways, ECOs are almost as important as CEOs!

As part of SFA’s regular review of the Food Hygiene Officer course curriculum, SFA will enhance the training framework for FHOs. FHOs can look forward to a holistic food safety education to better equip them as food safety guardians at their workplaces.

SFA will also be developing a new Advanced FHO framework, which would allow FHOs to upgrade and progress to Advanced FHOs. Advanced FHOs will be trained to develop and implement internationally recognised Food Safety Management Systems. Over the next 10 years, 9,000 new and existing FHOs and 400 Advanced FHOs will be trained.

Courses under these training frameworks can also be offered as certifiable modules to students in food-related programmes. This enhances their relevant skills and increase their job opportunities.

There will also be exciting jobs created in new growth areas such as the high-tech agri-food sector.

SFA has been working with government agencies, Institutes of Higher Learning and the industry to build competency within the agri-food workforce. This includes developing training programmes at various levels, which will be rolled out at the right time to meet industry needs without creating oversupply.

In the last two years, SFA has collaborated with Temasek and Republic Polytechnics to implement two SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programmes leading to diplomas in Aquaculture and Urban Agricultural Technology respectively. These programmes equip fresh ITE graduates with relevant skillsets to start their careers as Aqua or Agri Technicians.

Thus far, there are seven ITE graduates in the two Earn and Learn programmes. Ms Germaine Chong is one of them. As an Aquaculture Technician at Apollo Aquaculture, Germaine benefited from structured on-the-job training, mentorship and technical training. Recognising Germaine’s good work performance, Apollo Aquaculture has even offered to sponsor her for the full diploma.

This year, SFA will be working with NTU to launch a new Food Science and Technology post-grad certificate programme. This programme will cover contemporary topics on urban agri-technology, such as post-harvest of agriculture produce and novel food such as microalgae and insects. I believe technology will remove the "yuck" factor and bring the "yum" factor in.

On the Environmental Services side, we have launched the first ever NEA-Industry Scholarship Programme. We will partner the industry to award 20 scholarships to ITE and Polytechnic students in related fields, such as engineering, environmental technology and sciences. The scholarship provides scholars with financial support during their studies and attractive salary and clear progression pathways upon graduation.

In the recycling industry, the three upcoming e-waste recycling facilities are expected to add another 430 jobs. In tandem with the implementation of the Zero Waste Masterplan and Resource Sustainability Act, industry transformation will create more career opportunities requiring engineering, science and environmental management expertise. I therefore want to assure aspiring entrants into these fields that the jobs are exciting, pay well, leverage on new technology, and most importantly, are Planet-saving!

Mr Chairman, I want to end off my speech on an optimistic note. Even as the existential challenge of climate change looms over us, opportunities abound. We have to seize them and find creative solutions to make the most out of them. Just take my blouse as an example. Its designer JJ Chuan named it MusicCloth. Ms Chuan told me that 56 million kg of plastic had been used to make cassette tapes since they were first introduced in 1963. I am not sure how many Members here remember or know what a cassette tape looks like. She gives them a new lease of life by upcycling discarded cassette tapes, weaving them into the "fabric" for new products such as this evening bag, and also this prototype houndstooth matching blouse.

By planning ahead and working together as SG United, you can turn the challenges from climate change into opportunities for our companies to innovate and internationalise and create better jobs for Singaporeans. That is really turning trash into treasure. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Clarifications? Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: Thank you, Sir. I do not have much to show except this shirt which I have worn for five years. And that is the best to go towards zero waste. I have two clarifications.

One is on the carbon tax. We agree that the climate issue, it is an existential threat and that is why we introduced the carbon tax. But the issue here is that we are going to take too long to review it, which is we have committed to increase it by 2030. So, to tackle this emergency, can we look into reducing the time frame, which means can we at least look into increasing it by 2025, which is five years' time instead of 10 years?

Secondly, with regard to the public disclosure. I am just wondering whether MEWR has done any studies or review into the studies that show that there is a positive effect of public disclosure. The example I raised in my cut is the German Institute of Economic Research that showed that this type of company level disclosure will result in a 17% reduction in carbon emission. So, what is holding us back from doing something that will help to reduce emissions here in Singapore?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The carbon tax is only one of many measures that we have put in to make sure that we nudge our industry, our transport, our buildings towards meeting our targets. But there is also a reason behind that, like I mentioned in the early part of my speech. It is to make sure that we too will do our part in the United Nations' framework for climate change.

Our emission is barely 0.11% of the world's – about 50 mega tonnes. UK – five hundred mega tonnes, thereabout. China – 10 giga tonnes. So, even if we were to halve or eliminate our total GHG, we would not have moved the needle. It is all these other big emitters that must do their part to make sure that we can save our planet.

But the framework is one where everybody must do their best within the constraints of what they can do. So, our solutions fit ourselves and we believe that with what we have put forth, including the time frame, we will be able to manage to achieve our GHG commitments including the new ones that Senior Minister Teo announced, to reduce it by half in 2050 and to being carbon neutral in the second half of the century.

It is important that in the context of which we look at commitments, it is also to look at the constraints and the context of each country's make-up of how they produce these GHG in the first place.

There was a second question on public disclosure. I do not know how we can draw clear causality between the rules around disclosure and the outcomes around reducing GHG. Surely, there are many other things that have nudged or transform these companies to achieve reduction in the GHG emissions. I am quite sure one of them is the UNFCCC framework itself because it has set a mood in the whole world, that countries, companies, had better moved, had better transformed, whether or not you are going to be transparent or otherwise, because that is where the world is going.

And out of responsibility or even out of marketability of the products, that is how people will move. Whether they will move faster with disclosure or not, I am not so sure. I will say though that our SGX has already made the right moves to require companies to do sustainable reporting and they have to comply or they have to explain, if they do not make sustainability efforts.

The Chairman: Ms Sylvia Lim.

Ms Sylvia Lim: Chairman, I have a clarification concerning Project Wolbachia, the mosquito study. The first is that, I think it has gone through a few phases now. And from what I understand to date, it has not been deployed in any dengue clusters. My clarification first is, is there any rationale for not deploying it in dengue clusters thus far?

The second clarification is, earlier Minister Masagos mentioned that there is an intention to expand the project to larger areas. Does he foresee, for example, in the coming months that this will also involve dengue clusters in the expanded project?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: We are extremely careful in deploying this technology because we are introducing something that is, while natural – Wolbachia is naturally occurring in mosquitoes – we are doing it artificially. We are injecting huge numbers into the community. So, apart from the effectiveness of the technology, we are also mindful, as Mr Louis Ng had mentioned, of the disamenities that residents may suffer from suddenly having millions and millions of mosquitoes in their neighbourhood. So, there is some socialisation that has to take place.

I am happy that where it has been tried out, in Yishun and Tampines, the outcomes have been good – 90% suppression. But the disamenities and the complaints have persisted. When I do my house visits, residents will still say they see a lot of mosquitoes now. Then, when I explain to them it is the Project Wolbachia. They say, "Yes, I know. What shall do?" I tell them, "Do whatever you need to do – spray, hit – do whatever you need to do to make sure you do not suffer from these dis-amenities".

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Therefore, we need time. I think we need time to make sure that as we expand the areas where we deploy the Wolbachia, that the people are also used to this.

But here is the good news. We hope that, as we suppress the mosquito population, we can then introduce fewer male mosquitoes over time. But that is still a hope; that is still something we need to try and we need to validate. Project Wolbachia will take some time but it is going to be a very important tool that we can use in times when climate change brings higher temperatures, which in turn, encourages mosquito breeding. We need to have an arsenal of weapons to deploy.

In the meantime, we must still do what we must do, which is to suppress the breeding of these mosquitoes within our homes. Everyone must do their part. This is not a magic bullet. The Project Wolbachia will not be a magic bullet. We still need to ensure the breeding in our homes is well controlled.

The Chairman: Mr Seah Kian Peng.

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): For Project Wolbachia, I was one of the first few constituencies. The residents liked it quite a lot. So, if you want to bring it back, I volunteer my constituency again.

My clarification for the Minister revolves around food resilience. As I mentioned earlier, our plan to have 30% of our food supplies coming from within local produce by 2030 is an ambitious plan. But as I said, if there is a way to bring this to achieve it earlier, I think we should really go all out to to do it.

But we also know that local produce inevitably comes at a higher cost and therefore, we should also think of ways to help local producers to be better accepted by the consumers here.

I would like to ask the Minister, I know we are doing quite a lot, but what else can we do, because you cannot run away from the fact that local produce is more costly. Many of my business associates in this industry, we want them to succeed but I think we need to do a lot more to get the consumers to accept it. And I am sure Government can think of other ways to promote their products and for consumers to lend their support, not just by words, but by action.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: I thank the Member for the supplementary question, especially on how do we support our local farmers and local production. There are many ways. If you are all familiar with the four Ps of marketing, it is not just about pricing. Pricing is just one point at which we can push products faster. Sometimes, pricing, if it is too cheap, like salt becomes a useless product. It is not something people value.

And therefore, we will be helping our local producers to learn how to market their product better. For example, Red Mart is now marketing the local produce, selling through the electronic means, through Internet. It is achieving some measure of success because they know how to market it properly. It is not just about shelf display and so forth.

Apart from that, we also have achieved some form of scale. This is particularly important for our fish industry. The technologies we have put into our fish industry are quite costly. And if they only do it in Singapore, they will not be able to achieve the scale per unit. Therefore, we are happy that they have now expanded beyond Singapore shores. For example, Apollo has got concessions now in Brunei, Barramundi Asia too, as well as some other of our fish farms. And this will enable them to achieve and spread the cost of their early investments over a larger unit, a larger production. That too will help us to achieve the pricing points that would be attractive to Singaporeans.

But beyond that, I think there is also a segment of our buyers who are looking for sustainable products. The number may not be big but over time, the young will demand that products that they buy are sustainable ones. Therefore, it is important for our local producers to learn how to produce these sustainably.

The Chairman: Mr Pritam Singh.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Thank you, Sir, just following up some points I made in my Budget debate speech about the recycling and a charge on plastic bags so as to reduce our waste signature. On that note, I acknowledge the points made by Senior Minister of State on studies done and workgroups to be formed to look into that prospect.

My question relates to point I made in the Budget debate speech about waste in general and the amount of waste that we dispose. I understand last year, MEWR had a target to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to Pulau Semakau by 30%. What is the progress of that? How is that coming along, by 2030, I believe was the timeline?

On that note, what is the Minister's assessment of Pulau Semakau as a continued area where we dispose our waste? Do we not need to reduce our waste signature even further?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: We launched the Zero Waste Masterplan last year and one of the key goal, of course, is to reduce the amount of waste that we bring to Semakau by 30% by 2030. The Zero Waste Masterplan lays out in details the initiatives that we will be implementing or are already doing in order to achieve this goal. One of the these would be on the three key waste streams – e-waste, packaging waste and food waste. The Resource Sustainability Act has been passed and it is to enable some of these measures to be put in place. So, extended producer responsibility will be starting next year for e-waste. That will help to reduce the amount of waste, including those that may be trashed to Semakau.

Packaging waste is another one and we are actually bringing part of this EPR framework forward with the Deposit Returns Scheme that we will be implementing in 2022. If we implement the Deposit Return Scheme, post-consumer plastics, like PET bottles and so on, will then not have to be trashed if we can create a demand for this as feedstock.

Then, other ideas, which I have mentioned in my speech, about chemical recycling – again to recycle the contaminated plastics, turn them into "NEWOil", for instance.

All these measures will help us to reduce the amount of waste that will go to Semakau landfill. We want to save Semakau. We want to extend the lifespan of Semakau landfill for as long as possible.

The other one, of course, is NEWSand where we are already looking into having a commercial facility for NEWSand to be used as construction materials. Road pavements – we are going to do a study later on, on its effectiveness and impact. If you can use incineration bottom ash, that means instead of filling it up, putting in Semakau landfill, if you can actually use incineration bottom ash as construction material, NEWSand, then you will also reduce the amount of waste that you have to landfill in Semakau.

The Chairman: Mr Gan Thiam Poh.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: My question is on solar installation at the reservoirs. Was a cost-benefit study done? I was wondering about the recovery of the capital expenditure or capex, compared with so-called the conventional energy. Of course, I am in support of this project to use solar energy, but I just want to understand whether, in the long run, is it something worthwhile to do.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Solar energy costs have gone down all over the world, not just in Singapore. I just came back from Saudi and they are deploying solar panel fields – these are so huge and I am so envious that they have so much land. So, not only do they have energy under the ground, they now have energy above the ground. They have so much energy that they are not using it at all most of the time. They just want to do it because there is the land that they have and they think this is the way to go to be green.

For us, the only large amount of space that is not used would be the reservoirs. On the cost of solar panels alone, it is now low enough for us to benefit from the economic gains.

The Chairman: I can hear all the delicious food calling us. So, would Er Dr Lee Bee Wah do us a favour and withdraw the amendment?

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister, Senior Minister of State and the team in MEWR for working very hard for this COS. I am very happy to hear of all the job opportunities. Definitely, I will be the first few who will apply for the SG Eco Fund as I want to make sure that our rooftop, high-tech community farm is up and running by this year. With that, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $1,728,100,500 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $1,243,512,600 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

The Chairman: Order. I propose to take a break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 4.30 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 4.12 pm until 4.30 pm.

Sitting resumed at 4.30 pm

[Deputy Speaker (Mr Charles Chong) in the Chair]