Are we sacrificing clean air for carbon cuts? [News]

By Nicholas Fang and Henrick Tsjeng, Today, 24 Feb 2012.

The Singapore Budget 2012 was recently announced and it was revealed that the Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) Scheme will be replaced with a new Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS).

The GVR offers a 40 per cent rebate for environmentally friendly vehicles. The CEVS is a rebate programme that will specifically reward carbon-efficient vehicles – those with low carbon emissions per kilometre travelled – with rebates, while penalising those with higher carbon emissions.

The Special Tax for diesel vehicles that comply with Euro V emissions standards will also be slashed from S$1.25 per cu cm to S$0.40 per cu cm with effect from January 2013, a 70 per cent reduction. This is to promote the use of new diesel technologies that are considered cleaner. Read more

Earth Hour HQ to relocate to S’pore [News]

By Qiuyi Tan, Channel NewsAsia, 20 Feb 2012.

Climate change movement Earth Hour is moving its global headquarters from Sydney, Australia to Singapore.

It is expected to move to Singapore in May.

Earth Hour started as a one-city campaign in Sydney in 2007.

By 2011, the movement has spread to 5,251 cities and towns, reaching some 1.8 billion people in 135 countries.

The global movement encourages individuals, businesses and communities to switch off lights for one hour on the last Saturday of March every year.

Earth Hour executive director and co-founder Andy Ridley said Singapore offers the level of connectivity and opportunity the campaign needs to move forward. Read more

Carbon Emissions-based Scheme welcomed [News]

By Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia, 18 Feb 2012.

Motor industry players said the introduction of the new Carbon Emissions-based Scheme announced on Friday in the Budget statement, is a positive move.

They said some green car buyers could also potentially enjoy a higher rebate compared to the existing Green Vehicle Rebate Scheme.

The take-up rate of green vehicles in Singapore remains modest, despite the availability of a Green Vehicle Rebate Scheme since 2001.

Those with electric or hybrid cars stand to enjoy a 40 per cent rebate, which can offset their vehicles’ Additional Registration Fee (ARF).

But authorities realised there’s a drawback.

Compared to hybrid vehicles, some petrol cars with smaller engine capacities emit less carbon.

So the new Carbon Emissions-based Scheme will kick in. Read more

Singapore Budget 2012 – Enhancing Our Transport System (Speech)

Singapore Budget 2012 Speech on Enhancing Our Transport System by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam

D.1. I will now go on to a significant initiative in this year’s Budget – to enhance our public transport system.

D.2. Reliable and convenient public transport is critical to the quality of daily life for the majority of Singaporeans. When the planned Downtown Line, Tuas West Extension, Thomson Line and Eastern Regional Line are completed in a decade’s time, our rail coverage will be comparable to that of cities with the most developed rail networks today such as New York. We will also have 400,000 housing units within 400 metres of MRT stations, double the number today. Read more

Singaporeans supportive of climate change actions [News]

By Channel NewsAsia, 9 Feb 2012.

Singaporeans on the whole feel a sense of responsibility in playing their part to address climate change.

This is according to a survey commissioned by the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) to gauge the levels of public awareness, attitudes and behaviours towards issues related to climate change in Singapore.

The survey sampled 1,010 Singaporean residents aged 15 and above and was conducted from October to December 2011.

86 per cent of the respondents said they felt a part in taking action on climate change.

Over 73 per cent of the respondents said they are concerned about climate change.

Respondents perceived climate change to be an urgent issue and about 63 per cent felt that Singapore would be severely affected by climate change. Read more

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