SINGAPORE: A new climate action body formed by the People’s Action Party ( PAP ) aims to bolster support for businesses navigating the green transition, assistant secretary-general Desmond Lee announced on Tuesday ( Jan 21 ).
Mr Lee said the PAP Climate Action Group, launched on Tuesday at the Singapore Sustainability Academy, will stand a fourth action on climate shift in parliament after this time.
There are now initiatives to help organizations choose green methods, such as the Business Sustainability Programme and Energy Efficiency Grant, said Mr Lee, the Minister for National Development.
He noted that some businesses – especially small and medium-sized enterprises – also face problems in this area.
“This action will call for stronger support to help organizations understand the natural transition, and maintain a just and equitable move towards a low-carbon world, ” said Mr Lee.
MAJOR PRIORITY
The climate action group is one of two new bodies formed by the party to address “issues that are also major priorities for the PAP government”, he said.
The party launched its mental health group in October last year.
The new groups were first announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in June, as part of the party ’s “Refresh PAP” exercise.
Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon will chair the climate action group, alongside Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament Louis Ng.
While the party already has various groups serving specific segments in the community, the two new bodies were set up to face “key challenges ” that “cut across traditional demographic lines”, Mr Wong had said.
“Looking ahead, climate change poses an existential threat to Singapore, and will be one of the defining challenges of our time, ” said Mr Lee on Tuesday.
He said that environmental sustainability has long been a core part of Singapore’s development, citing founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s efforts in the space and the country ’s involvement on the global stage.
TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
The upcoming climate change motion will be the fourth. The first was tabled in January 2021 by members of the government parliamentary committee ( GPC ) on sustainability and the environment, to accelerate and deepen efforts against climate change.
Mr Ng, who currently heads the GPC, said the group hopes to table the latest motion “sometime this year”.