Forward Singapore (Steward Pillar): Enabling Singapore and Southeast Asia's Green Transition

Published on 14 Jun 2023

On 10 May 2023, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Finance, Mr Chee Hong Tat, and Minister of State (MOS), Mr Alvin Tan, engaged over 100 business leaders from the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce to discuss how businesses and the Government can work together to facilitate Singapore’s green economy transition.

A member of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce raising her question to the panel. Credit: MTI

Partnerships of our SMEs and international firms also fuel the transition from a conventional economy to a green one. The strength of SICC lies in its ability to bring together firms who can work together to build greener products and services that the market wants.

- Minister of State, Alvin Tan

To support the transition to a green economy, SMS Chee and MOS Tan shared the Government’s current efforts in enterprise growth and job creation.

- Funding through Grants and Loans
Schemes like the Energy Efficiency Grant, Enterprise Development Grant, and Enterprise-Financing Scheme-Green provide financing and risk-sharing support for Singaporean companies in becoming more sustainable and energy efficient.

- Building A Regulatory Sandbox.
Companies in green growth sectors can participate in sandbox programmes to trial their experimental technologies.

- Equipping our Workers with Green Skills
The Green Skills Committee, led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, will develop green jobs training programmes.

SMS Chee Hong Tat engaging with participants. Credit: MTI

Working Towards A Greener Future

The things that we are enjoying today are the results of the hard work and effort and the long term vision and planning that our forefathers have made that enable us today to enjoy the benefits. So likewise, we have to do the same for our future generations.

- Senior Minister of State for Finance, Chee Hong Tat

In his closing remarks, Minister Chee also highlighted Singapore's continued efforts in contributing to Southeast Asia’s green transition.

- Collaborate with our neighbours to build a regional power grid allowing ASEAN countries to tap into the region's low-carbon and renewable energy sources. In doing so, ASEAN nations can collectively enjoy sustainable growth while improving their energy resilience.

- Work with our neighbours to reduce waste and develop a regional circular economy.

- Our neighbours' Green Economy efforts can be supported if we leverage on our experience and expertise to make such projects more sustainable in design and implementation.

Ready to do your part for climate change?

Make your Green Nation pledge at go.gov.sg/greennationpledge and commit to playing your part in this effort.