6 PAP MPs submit first parliamentary motion to address climate change

Singapore — Six People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs have filed the first parliamentary motion urging the Government to accelerate efforts in fighting climate change.

The MPs — Louis Ng, Poh Li San, Cheryl Chan, Gan Thiam Poh, Hany Soh and Don Wee — submitted a private member’s motion for the Parliament sitting on Monday (Feb 1).

The MPs are in the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Sustainability and the Environment.

The motion states: “That this House calls on the Government, in partnership with the private sector and the people of Singapore, to deepen and accelerate efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to embrace sustainability in the development of Singapore.”

According to Ms Soh, the motion can be summed up with the acronym, “ABC”. The first letter stands for accelerating efforts in tackling climate change, given that people are already feeling its impact daily.

“B” is for bolder movements and initiatives, while “C” stands for collaboration among the public and private sectors as well as members of the public.

The motion includes 10 recommendations proposed by the PAP’s Youth Wing, which were introduced in its position paper on sustainability issues. The recommendations resonate with both environmental activists and businesses, Mr Ng was quoted as saying by mothership.sg.

A summary of the 10 recommendations is as follows:

1. To raise carbon tax during the post-Covid period and review said tax every five years;
2. To professionalise the carbon accounting and reporting industry by establishing accounting standards, providing certification and training local talents;
3. To add sustainability to the Industry Transformation Map scheme and establish a sustainability sector branch;
4. To set higher and expanded standards placed on procurement in the public sector;
5. To support the adoption of electric vehicles through incentives given to private developers in making accessible charging points;
6. To increase the Green Mark standards on carbon efficiency;
7. To boost climate education in the school curriculums;
8. To add Climate Defence into Total Defence pillars as one of the national priorities;
9. To introduce mechanisms which help key industrial sectors share technical data on energy efficiency and clean energy;
10. To increase public access to emission data of top-emitting private companies and public entities to boost transparency and accountability.

In a Facebook post on Friday (Jan 29), Mr Ng shared the news with the public, noting that the MPs would be bringing “this important debate” into Parliament.

“The GRC for Sustainability and the Environment together with the Young PAP will push hard and urge the Government to deepen and accelerate efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to embrace sustainability in the development of Singapore,” said Mr Ng.

“Climate change is an existential threat that we cannot ignore. It is a matter of life and death.” /TISG

Read related: How climate change could expose new epidemics

How climate change could expose new epidemics