ONG TENG KOON (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC)

Opt for green building materials

Singapore generates 1.3 per cent of its electricity from photovoltaic cells, or solar power, Mr Ong said. He asked how the country will further reduce emissions from its energy consumption.

Mr Ong said Singapore should consider the entire life cycle of building materials and choose the ones that can be recycled or reused for infrastructure such as drains and roads.

He asked what efforts and initiatives there are to make buildings more sustainable.

He also suggested creating a national "green mark" to recognise and incentivise local projects and businesses with initiatives that reduce emissions.

DESMOND CHOO (Tampines GRC)

Balance climate trade-offs carefully

Singapore has committed $100 billion to protecting itself from rising sea levels resulting from climate change, but it must also fulfil its international obligations towards low carbon emission development, Mr Choo said. Yet, the journey ahead will be "fraught with dilemmas and trade-offs".

He added: "Controlling carbon emission through carbon taxes increases business costs. Protecting our coastlines might have permanent ecological impact."

These trade-offs must be balanced carefully, but threats can also be turned into opportunities, Mr Choo said.

PRITAM SINGH (Aljunied GRC)

Work with neighbours for green energy

Mr Singh suggested that Singapore could shift towards renewable energy sources by working more closely with neighbours like Malaysia and Indonesia.

These countries have spare land to install solar panels and wind turbines, which is "practically impossible in land-scarce Singapore".

Mr Singh said Singapore could, in theory, invest in clean energy projects in the region and use renewable energy credits to receive clean energy from Malaysia.

He said the regional and global consequences of climate change provide an opportunity for further Asean-wide collaborations that promote green policies.

RAHAYU MAHZAM (Jurong GRC)

Use other metrics to calculate growth

Ms Rahayu raised concerns over the effectiveness of carbon taxation in Singapore.

She said that some climate activists and sustainability experts feel there has been an overemphasis on economic metrics like gross domestic product as a means for calculating growth, as they may not reflect current performance levels accurately. This may encourage excessive production and consumption.

She asked if the Government would consider a review to measure absolute carbon emissions against more holistic indicators like the Human Development Index or the United Nations' Inclusive Wealth Index.

Rei Kurohi