SINGAPORE – Transforming trash into treasure is the way forward to safeguard the future of Singapore and the region, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli told a key environmental meeting on Friday (Jan 25).

“Countries need to embrace a new form of economic growth, not purely reliant on resource exploitation,” he said in a speech at the Third Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific.

“We need to adopt circular economy approaches. By transforming waste into resources, we will generate new economic value from something that would have been thrown away.”

New industries can emerge where skilled workers design innovative products and waste manufacturing processes, he noted.

The conference at Marina Bay Sands saw heads of state, ministers and environment officials from 41 countries discuss environmental issues, key priorities and solutions.

Mr Siim Kiisler, president of the fourth United Nations (UN) Environment Assembly, said there should be three main priorities – sustainable and efficient resource management, smart use of environmental data, and meaningful engagement across different groups.

The Assembly, which will be held in March, will bring together nations to focus on innovative solutions, and sustainable consumption and production.

Ms Joyce Msuya, acting executive director of the UN Environment Programme, noted that the global approach to “grow now and clean up later” has reached its limit, pointing out that the world needs to dramatically change the way it produces, consumes, and lives. The key to this is innovation, she said.

While a growing population means a growing demand on resources, it can also mean more people who can contribute to solutions, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Friday in his keynote address.

To do so calls for embracing technology, getting the economics right, and working together, he said.

One of the success stories he pointed out was the deployment of stand-alone solar systems to provide electricity to homes in India, an effort hailed by the International Energy Agency as one of the greatest success stories in terms of access to energy.

Pointing to economics, he stressed the need to fully reflect the cost of resources. In Singapore, for instance, water is priced to take into account its supply, production and scarcity, and a carbon tax was introduced this year to put a direct price on greenhouse gas emissions.

Countries need to work together to share best practices, exchange experiences and expertise, and find solutions together, DPM Teo added, to address global environmental challenges, such as deforestation and pollution.

Ms Msuya also pointed to late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s foresight in keeping Singapore clean and green.

“What was innovative then is common knowledge now,” she said.

“Innovation needs to be the heartbeat of the transformation that we want.”

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