SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party on Tuesday (Oct 29) set out its stance on climate change and outlined its contributions in Parliament, including speaking out about excessive carbon emissions.
This includes commenting on the Resource Sustainability Bill, Carbon Pricing Bill and Energy Conservation Act.
In a statement, the party said its MPs "note and agree with the many concerns expressed at the recent SG Climate rally, together with other civil society groups and Singaporeans, about the climate emergency facing our planet".
The WP added that its elected MPs and Non-Constituency MPs have raised concerns about climate change mitigation and adaptation in Parliament. The WP has six MPs and three NCMPs.
Their suggestions included looking into climate change holistically, enhancing drainage capacities and adopting technologies to withstand possible higher levels of rainfall in the future.
The WP MPs also called for more urban planning measures to reduce the impact of the "Urban Heat Island effect", which refers to how certain types of building materials, technologies and urban plans can inadvertently lead to significantly higher temperatures in particular areas of a city.
Other suggestions included issues related to maintaining biodiversity, improving the local farming sector, adopting research and development to create solutions against vector-borne diseases like dengue; and the publication and sharing of detailed data-driven climate change research produced by the Government.
"We have also asked the Government if they would consider setting a goal for the share of renewables' contribution to total energy production in the longer-term and to publish data on the emissions trends of large emitters, for greater transparency and to allow the public to benchmark the carbon-intensity of our economic activities against global norms," the party said.
"Increasing the share of renewables will give greater meaning to existing efforts, such as the drive to increase share of electric vehicles on the roads."
The party statement added that decarbonisation of Singapore's economy will require efforts to increase the country's share of renewable energy, while improving energy efficiency across industry and households.
"However, we should also remain cautious that legal requirements can result in unintended consequences such as a larger compliance burden on companies and government administration," it said.
The WP also noted that party chief Pritam Singh had spoken about planning infrastructure for climate change and rising sea levels in his Budget speech this year.
"The Workers' Party actively welcomes dialogue with all Singaporeans with a view to leaving a sustainable Singapore for future generations of Singaporeans," it said.
