SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Another dilemma metropolitan areas face is the right way to achieve growth whilst establishing sustainable and liveable communities, mentioned Mr Teo.
“While good planning for the particular hardware of a town, its physical facilities, provides the foundation for the more sustainable and liveable city, an additional key element is the firmware, the processes, rules and regulations that translate policy intentions into actual actions by companies, property owners, developers plus citizens, ” he or she continued.
“One of the key things… is to get the economics right. We need to appropriately reflect the cost of externalities when we price our activities and resources. This will incentivise customers and businesses to take into account the real cost of providing a few resources and avoid too much consumption or waste. ”
Singapore will be one of the most water-stressed countries on the planet by 2040, mentioned the Senior Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich), citing a study with the World Resources Institute.
“Water in Singapore is priced to reflect the full cost of its supply and production, and we also impose a drinking water conservation tax to reflect its scarcity value, ” mentioned Mr Teo.
This pricing approach made it possible for Singapore to invest in the recycling where possible of water meant for potable use, he added.
Energy is also priced at market price to encourage effective use, with no subsidies, and the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions are also priced in, said Mr Teo.
Noting that Singapore was the first Southeast Asian country to bring in a carbon taxes in 2019, he additional: “On the other side of the coin, we support and motivate businesses to pursue energy efficiency, and incentivise households to switch to more energy efficient appliances by subsidising their upfront expenses.
“We believe that with all the right policies, city governments can embed environmental sustainability a lot more meaningfully in the psyche of its businesses plus residents. ”
Sustainable metropolitan transportation is an important element for a greener and much more liveable environment, stated Mr Teo.
This is not just about replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with electric vehicles, he added.
“This removes the motors, but not the automobiles and the congestion. The greater fundamental system solution is to minimise the need for personal use vehicles, through well-integrated metropolitan planning and a more comprehensive public transportation system. ”
This is why Singapore has invested greatly in public transport, and it has implemented a zero-growth policy for its vehicle population since 2018, Mr Teo mentioned.
“Building resilience, whether or not to pandemics, natural disasters, or to the consequences of climate change such as more extreme weather conditions and rising ocean levels, is something which we need to do to shield our cities, inch he added.