It’s a small, dense, island nation where all the population is urbanized. And yet, the city-state of Singapore is the greenest city in Asia, according to the Green City Index, and arguably is number one Asia’s greenest country in the world.
As Singapore’s population and the economy grew, so did its green cover: it was about 36% in the 1980s and it now stands at 47%, according to the Center for Liveable cities. And while the word “green” can take on a variety of connotations, Singapore appears to encompass them all — lush environments, renewable energy and future sustainability.
That’s crucial, as the city-state lacks any form of natural resource. Half of the nation’s water supplies are imported from neighboring Malaysia, with the rest sourced from desalinization plants, the efficient catchment of rainwater and recycling of sewage.
One initiative in place to ensure a more sustainable ‘green’ status throughout the country is the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Scheme — a rating system introduced in 2005 to evaluate all buildings based on their environmental impact and performance.
All buildings within the marina bay district are green-mark platinum and now extending beyond the marina, with developers throughout Singapore now chasing after the highly regarded platinum status.
Singapore pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 16% below business as usual levels in 2020, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Congratulations, Singapore.
