Singapore's National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan Tuesday called for greater private sector participation to protect environment.
Speaking at the Business for Environment summit, he said: "To build Singapore into a sustainable development hub, we will need a third pillar - a supportive domestic population and business community that champion sustainable development in the way they live and do business here.
"In this regard, businesses must be prepared to take initiative and invest in advance to make their businesses more environmentally-friendly. This need not come at the expense of business profitability."
As a low-lying, densely populated island-state with limited natural resources, he noted, Singapore is highly vulnerable to these global environmental changes.
He pointed out that the country's approach to environmental sustainability has been a pragmatic one, which is "to take a long-term view of development, and to consistently pursue a pragmatic set of policies and measures."
He believes that Singapore can achieve a sustainable balance between economic growth and a good living environment.
"The Government will take the lead in efforts to address environmental challenges," he said.
An inter-ministerial committee for sustainable development has been formed in Singapore to holistically review and chart its sustainable development strategies going forward.
"In view of the global challenge of climate change, Singapore will intensify efforts in the area of energy efficiency," Mah said.
A 5-year, 50 million Singapore dollars (about 37 million U.S. dollars) sustainable energy fund to build competency in energy management and support energy efficiency programs has been set up, on top of a 10 million Singapore dollars energy efficiency improvement assistance scheme to co-fund energy audits, as well as other fiscal incentives for energy efficiency.
Source:Xinhua
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