Singapore(National Level)

Singapore Green Plan 2012:Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using natural gas as an energy source

The Ministry of the Environment launched this strategy in 2002 and it aims to generate 60% of Singapore's energy using natural gas by 2012. Natural gas is a cleaner form of energy compared to coal as it doesn't produce smoke.

This strategy is successful under the following ways

• 79% of Singapore's electricity was being generated from natural gas as early as 2010. This exceeded the Ministry of Environment's target ahead of schedule.

However, the strategy has limitations under the following ways

• natural gas needs complex treatment plants to process and pipelines to transport. This pipelines have high maintenance costs because they are laid underground and have to be regularly checked for leakage.

Green Mark Scheme: Constructing 'green' buildings

This strategy is launched by the Building Construction Authority in 2005. This strategy allows buildings to be evaluated and certified according to how energy-efficient and environmentally friendly they are. The strategy aims to encourage more new 'green' buildings which are more energy-efficient. Buildings which are more energy-efficient uses lesser energy to do the same work. An example is the 'green' buildings that uses energy generated from solar energy.

This strategy is successful because

• the existing 'green' buildings in Singapore have reported an energy saving of 15 to 35% compared to conventional buildings. This type of buildings cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity  

However, the strategy has limitations because

• the construction companies and developers are unwilling to adopt new ideas and materials to build 'green' buildings.. 'Green' buildings are also more expensive to build. as 'green' materials are more expensive

 

Plant-A-Tree Programme: Planting more trees an plants

Tree planting day is first started in 1971 by the Garden City Fund and Singapore Environment Council. They aim to maintain Singapore's status as a Garden City by planting trees. Residents are encouraged to donate money to buy a tree or take part in tree planting events that take place monthly throughout Singapore.

This strategy is successful because

• it caused 60000 trees to be planted annually throughout Singapore by the National Parks Board.

However, the strategy has limitations because

• trees take many years to mature, so the positive effect of tree planting will take lots of time to come true.