Singapore (CU)_ Singapore has announced its high ambitions towards green plans and said the country plans to achieve its green goals by 2030. The mission encourages measures such as planting a million trees around the island, increasing the use of electric cars, and reforming the tax code for the benefit of the planet. Apart from planting more trees, about 40 Green Plan 2030 projects aim at building more nature parks in order to protect nature reserves from urbanization. The new environmental plan is in compliance with the Paris Agreement and U.N. 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
National Development Minister Desmond Tan released a video saying, “We will set aside 50% more land – around 200 hectares – for nature parks. Every household will live within a 10-minute walk of a park. We will plant one million more trees across our island, which will sequester another 78,000 tonnes of Co2.”
The project was announced just prior to the budget announcement next week and was created by transport, environment and sustainability, education, trade and industry, and national development ministries. Efforts were not made to evaluate the cost for implementing the proposal. The government also aims to encourage cleaner energy which includes more electric vehicles or EVs, besides improving greenery. The project aims to raise electric vehicle charging points from 28,000 to 60,000 by 2030 and to make cleaner energy vehicles compulsory. By 2040, it also intends to remove cars that use internal combustion engines. To note, Tesla was approved by the country for electric car sales this week.
Other measures of the project involve the evaluation of the carbon tax by 2023 and the creation of a tax system which makes it simpler for owning an EV. Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said that Tengah, one of Singapore’s newest neighbors in the West, may also have a car-free city center with underground roads, freeing up surface spaces for other use, including public transport.
