Singapore can do more to cut emissions, protect nature and safeguard human rights: UN expert

SINGAPORE - Singapore has made notable contributions to the global environmental movement, but it can do more to reduce its planet-warming emissions, protect nature and safeguard human rights, said a UN environment expert on May 23.

Speaking at the end of a 10-day trip to Singapore, Ms Astrid Puentes Riano, the UN special rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, said: “Considering the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and toxic pollution, Singapore can and must increase efforts to reduce demand of energy, water and resources.”

Despite its small size, Singapore has played a leadership role on the world stage, helping to advance a number of multilateral treaties, such as those on environmental protection and human rights, she said.

For example, Singapore had in 1982 helped to broker an agreement among countries on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which governs all uses of the oceans and their resources. The country also adopted the Asean Human Rights Declaration in 2012.

But while Singapore has helped to advance these declarations, it also has to ensure that these efforts are adequately implemented in the country, added the special rapporteur, who is from Colombia.

On climate change, Ms Puentes Riano noted that Singapore contributes just 0.1 per cent of global carbon emissions.

But the average amount of carbon dioxide emitted by each person here remains significant, she said, pointing to how Singapore ranks 20th globally in terms of emissions per capita, based on a review of 156 countries or territories.

Along with high consumption-related emissions, these present “a significant space for improvement”, said Ms Puentes Riano, who is making her first trip as special rapporteur since her appointment in 2024.

Beyond reducing reliance on natural gas, which accounts for about 95 per cent of the country’s electricity production, it is equally important for people in Singapore to reduce the demand for energy and water here, she said at a press conference held at the Park Regis by Prince Singapore hotel to mark the end of her trip.

About 10 per cent of the global population is consuming and responsible for over half of carbon emissions, she added.

“We can’t continue with these levels of consumption. Singapore has a huge opportunity, because being one of the wealthiest countries in the world... there is a lot of space to not only think about economic growth as unlimited, but also consider the planetary boundaries,” Ms Puentes Riano said.

During her visit to Singapore from May 14 to 23, Ms Puentes Riano met Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, as well as representatives from several environment-related ministries, government agencies, a High Court judge and some MPs.

She also had engagements with civil society and academics, and visited places such as the TuasOne Waste-to-Energy Incineration Plant, Sisters’ Islands Marine Park and Jurong Island, the country’s petrochemical hub.

The UN has several special rapporteurs who are independent human rights experts appointed to report and advise on a range of issues, from cultural rights to human rights in the Palestinian territories.

As the UN special rapporteur on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Ms Puentes Riano promotes good practices in areas such as air quality, waste management and biodiversity, and identifying challenges, among other responsibilities.

On nature, she noted that Singapore has lost most of its tropical primary forest and a “significant portion of its biodiversity, due to urban expansion and development”.

But the Government has rolled out initiatives to address the nature loss, she acknowledged. These include the designation of a marine park, the OneMillionTrees planting initiative, and other efforts to help wildlife species, including the once-extinct otters and hornbills, thrive.

However, care needs to be taken to ensure natural ecosystems are looked after even as the country continues to develop, Ms Puentes Riano said.

Citing the example of the

future Long Island project,

which involves reclaiming land at higher levels off East Coast and placing them in the form of islands to protect the coastline from sea-level rise, Ms Puentes Riano said: “It is of great importance to prevent and minimise impacts of ecosystems including in the face of new and upcoming projects such as the Long Island project.

“Impacts on the marine ecosystems need to be adequately assessed and prevented, as damage to ecosystems can be irreversible,” she added.

Singapore can also ensure that its development does not come at the expense of nature loss elsewhere.

Reclamation projects need to be accountable for the impacts on the source countries that land materials come from, and developers should prevent and reduce reclamation’s impact on the Republic and abroad, Ms Puentes Riano stressed.

She added that findings from all environmental impact assessments (EIAs) should be publicly available, and this, alongside public engagements, should be coded into law.

Singapore has guidelines about when an EIA should be done, such as if proposed developments are close to sensitive nature areas, but has no EIA law.

She added: “One of the gaps here is that there is a lack of clarity about when EIAs are done, when (they are) published, what is published. There’s no clarity about whether all the environmental assessment done is published... and what (the stages are).

“A key aspect is to make sure... all of these assessments incorporate climate and human rights perspectives.”

The UN expert also urged the Singapore Government to be more inclusive in engaging the public on environment matters, even as she noted that such consultations have increased over the last decade.

“I received information that people, including youth, have been excluded from participation in certain processes due to what might be seen as diverging opinions,” she said in a 10-page statement, without giving specific examples.

“It is important that the Government continues its effort to increase participation to receive feedback and explain its decisions while keeping spaces for dialogue open.”

Following her visit, Ms Puentes Riano will work on a full report with a more detailed and comprehensive analysis of her visit, including recommendations on how to improve the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in Singapore, and this will be presented to the UN in March 2026.

Ms Puentes Riano, an environmental and climate justice lawyer based in Mexico, was invited by the Singapore Government.

This is the first visit to Singapore in a decade by a UN human rights expert.

In 2016, Ms Rosa Kornfeld-Matte – then UN independent expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons – visited Singapore on a similar mission, but focused on the ageing population.

Ms Puentes Riano’s visit coincided with a meeting by the Asean human rights commission in Jakarta, held from May 12 to 16.

The commission agreed on the text for the landmark Asean Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment.

This non-binding declaration will pave the way for countries in the region to promote and fulfil environmental human rights, in a period when environmental degradation and climate change impacts are worsening. It will cover people’s access to justice when environmental rights are violated, and protect green advocates.

Singapore reaffirms commitment to hearing diverse perspectives

Singapore is committed to incorporating diverse perspectives in the public engagement process, while ensuring that it remains constructive, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on May 23, at the end of the 10-day visit by Ms Puentes Riano.

“Ms Puentes Riano noted that spaces for engagement in Singapore have increased in the last decade,” said the MFA spokesman. “She noted the various mechanisms Singapore has established for citizen engagement and our commitment to balancing the range of views and concerns of stakeholders.”

He added that Singapore thanks Ms Puentes Riano for her visit and sharing her perspectives.

“We had open and constructive discussions with a view to deepening mutual understanding, even if there were different perspectives on some issues. We will study and consider her recommendations carefully. We look forward to reading her full report in due course,” the spokesman said.

On climate matters, the MFA said Ms Puentes Riano recognised Singapore’s

raised climate ambition in its 2035 climate targets, a

s well as being the first South-east Asian nation to implement a carbon tax.

Singapore has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to between 45 million and 50 million tonnes by 2035, down from around 60 million tonnes in 2030, with the planned decline in emissions on a linear trajectory.

“We reaffirmed our strong commitment to addressing climate change and shared our challenges, including our lack of alternative energy options and carbon sinks, and the need to rely on technology and international cooperation to overcome our constraints to fully decarbonise,” said MFA.

Ms Puentes Riano and Dr Balakrishnan also discussed Singapore’s approach to environmental sustainability as a small, densely populated city-state, as well as the need to balance competing needs in the country’s efforts to “build a liveable, sustainable, socially inclusive and economically vibrant country”.

“We appreciate Ms Puentes Riano’s recognition that planning is a key feature of the Singapore Government’s policy approach,” the ministry spokesman said.

MFA added that the special rapporteur took note of Singapore’s long-term, science-based approach to sustainable development – one that seeks to secure the well-being of both present and future generations, and ensure the responsible stewardship of its resources.

Ms Puentes Riano also commended Singapore’s whole-of-nation approach and close inter-agency coordination as a key strength in advancing its goals, MFA said.