Speech By Assoc Prof Simon Tay,
Chairman (NEA)

Green Transport Day 2005
15 APR 2005

Mr. Heng Chiang Meng, Chairman, and Board members of the Singapore Environment Council

My friend, Prof Leo Tan, chairman of the National Parks Board.

Lam Joon Khoi and my colleagues from the NEA

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Good morning. I am pleased to be with you here today at the launch of Green Transport Day 2005.

I remember that the Singapore Environment Council began this as a "Car Free" day. But Singaporeans love their cars so much that it did not take off. Now, it is "Green Transport" day. But while the name may have changed, the goal we promote today is consistent. What is this?

Simply put, Singapore needs clean air. We have consistently maintained high air quality standards despite a city, and a growing one. Our readings show that all major air pollutants here are well within international ambient air quality standards. Curbing vehicle emissions has been a major factor in our success.

I remember when the Glutton Square was brought back along Orchard Road in 2003/04, I went there with some of my NEA colleagues. As we sat there, enjoying our good hawker food, I told our Director General for Pollution Control, Mr Loh Ah Tuan, thank you. He thought at first that I was mistaken: hawker centres come under our other colleague, the Director General for Public Health, Khoo Seow Poh. But no, I said, thank you for pollution control. In many cities in the world, you cannot sit on the side walk or car park off a major road like Orchard Road and comfortably eat. The air pollution will ruin it for you (or at least give the food a quite different taste). Only clean air makes this possible. Many aspects of the Singapore lifestyle depend on this basic resource: clean, fresh air.

To make this possible, the government has put many measures in place to reduce air pollution from transport. These include emission standards for vehicles, electronic road pricing, the vehicle quota system, petrol taxes, an efficient public transportation systems, and so on. Some think the air is free. But actually too, there are high costs if the air is polluted, and therefore a price to be paid in order to keep the air clean.

In taking these steps, we have to be aware of new threats and new needs and act early. One emerging concern is particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5. These are microscopic dots in the air, so small it may not seem worth talking about. But PM2.5 has been linked to respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma that affect the young and the very old more. We are struggling to lower the amount of PM2.5 in the air we breathe.

Road transportation - cars, buses, taxis, trucks - are the major contributor to PM 2.5 pollution. We will introduce, from October 2006, a stricter standard to deal with PM2.5. This standard, based on Euro IV emission standards, will focus on new diesel vehicles. We have to act to ensure that even as our city grows, our air remains clean.

Beyond air pollution, another reason for Green Transport day, is the concern with climate change. Land transport is responsible for about 20% of Singapore's greenhouse gas emissions. The threat of climate change is real. If there is global warming, sea level rise and harsh and unpredictable climate events in the world, Singapore cannot but be affected.

There are many things that can be done. And not all of it can be done by government alone. All of us need to take proactive steps, not necessarily drastic, but gradual lifestyle shifts towards reducing our carbon dependency. Modifications in our car-loving society are due.

I recognize that many of us need to own a car, for family or work related reasons. That is why this is no longer called, "Car Free" day. Nevertheless we motorists are one group that can do the most with quick results simply by making informed choices on the fuel efficiency of potential car purchases, and their emissions of climate change gases. Working with the SEC on a fuel economy labeling scheme, we are going to provide information to car buyers and owners to label cars. If we want cars, they should be cleaner and more efficient cars.

We at the NEA have also been championing environmentally friendly vehicles that go beyond meeting emission standards. Some natural gas taxis and buses have been pioneered. Singapore is also a test bed for an innovative fuel cell car. CNG and Fuel cell cars would be much cleaner for the air.

Green vehicles are still thought to be "experimental". In many cases, however, this experiment is not so much because of the technology, but because of our lifestyle choices. There are green vehicle options that already exist.

For example, the Honda and Toyota hybrids that combine small and clean engines with electrical engines. In the USA, movie stars drive them and people wait months to buy one. Another example is the DaimlerChrysler SMART car.

With oil prices rocketing, everyone queues in front of a gas station that offers 10% or more discount. The time should be right to see cleaner, fuel-efficient green vehicles to become widespread. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. In the USA, people are waiting months in queue to buy a hybrid Toyota Prius. Here in Singapore, demand is so low that the model is no longer even available. Why? As I have said, technology is no longer the main hurdle.

Part of the reason that many have not changed their habits is that there is still a marked difference in the price of "green" cars as compared to comparable normal ones. We will work harder with the different government agencies like the Ministries of Finance, and of Transport, on rebates to make it more attractive for the public to own green cars.

But even if those rebates are given, there is still a question of lifestyle choice, of what Singaporeans prefer. Many more Singaporeans still buy big, expensive SUVs that consume quite a lot. Do we need such big gas guzzling cars in our city, when few of us use that 4WD option anyway? They could pay a few thousand dollars extra to pay for the more fuel efficient option, or even could save money by buying smaller and more efficient cars.

This is something all of us need to address. We need to make the connection between our day-to-day choices and the cleaner air and greener world that we want. In the end, the onus is on us. In saying all this, I must confess a weakness for cars myself. I have kept the same car for 20 years. It still passes the emissions test, and it's a small car with a small engine, so it does not drink too much fuel. But if and when the circumstances allow, this car lover would love to buy a green car. After all, my present car is an open top and I depend on clean air to fully enjoy that. Therefore, I should do my bit to keep the air clean.

I have said that technology is not the real obstacle. I have said also that the extra costs need not be so high. In fact, there are ways to save money, while you help save the earth. One of these options is for car-sharing schemes. The SEC tells me that if you are not an intensive car user, joining a car-sharing scheme instead of owning your own car can easily save you up to $10,000 annually. Car-pooling also helps to reduce congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while saving money for participants. By having more people travel in the same vehicle, the journey becomes much more efficient in terms of fuel consumption.

Some of us can also be creative in combining different modes of transport. For example, the SEC tells me of one person who makes use of a foldable bicycle to commute between his home and the MRT station as well as between the MRT station and his office. On most days he cycles the whole way to work, which takes him 30 minutes, less time than if he were to take the MRT from his home in Paya Lebar to Toa Payoh. As a result, I understand the exercise makes him feel better, and he also spends less on transport. He sold his car after one year of cycling and makes use of car-sharing schemes to fill the occasional need for a car. Perhaps we can learn from him how he has overcome his car addiction. I hope to see a combination of neighbors hitching rides with each other, cyclists, joggers, walkers, increasing use of buses and the MRT, and a growing market for the coolest green technologies.

What sort of city and country do we want to see? A city with buzz, but also with green spaces and trees, and clean air, our best home. A city with streets like Orchard Road so full of sights and so green and clean that we do not mind walking to window shop and people watch. A city in which we can walk, or cycle, or ride public transport, or use a car - that we enjoy but not at a high expense to the air or the earth. Or any combination of these.

I would like to thank and congratulate the SEC for continuing to drive the green transport message. On behalf of the NEA I would like to thank other 3P partners, especially ExxonMobil for their continuing support, sponsorship and cartoon drawings on safe driving tips in the Green Transport Guide. To the other exhibitors - Daimler Chrysler, Honda, Honda Diraac, NTUC Car Co-op, Transitlink, Safe Cycling Task Force, and SIS Technologies, thank you for your participation. I would also like to thank LTA for their support in this cause, the group of friends and colleagues who joined me in walking to this event, from the office of the Ministry of the Environment and water resources, and Howard Shaw and his team from the SEC. We work in partnership with you on this, and thank you for leading this initiative.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to wish that all of us enjoy this exhibition and that it stirs us to think of how each of us can contribute to greener transport, cleaner air in Singapore and a greener earth.

Thank you.