STATEMENT BY MR MARK NEO, DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE, PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, FOR PGA'S THEMATIC DEBATE ON WATER, SANITATION AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, 18 FEBRUARY 2014

                   Thank you, Mr President, for convening this thematic debate on “Water, sanitation and sustainable energy in the post-2015 development agenda”.  It is a timely event as the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is preparing its report and as we start to negotiate the modalities for the post-2015 Leaders’ Summit in 2015.  It will be an opportunity to take stock of our progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and highlight our expectations for the post-2015 development.

Mr President,

                   With less than a year till 2015, it is critical to re-double our efforts in achieving the outstanding MDGs.  While the MDG on water has been surpassed, the MDG target on sanitation is unlikely to be achieved before 2015. Half a billion people will be left out when the target of 75% global sanitation by 2015 is not met. 

                   Ensuring proper sanitation for all remains a global challenge. 2.5 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation. Many come from poor and rural areas. 1 billion people still defecate in the open.  These unsanitary conditions lead to health problems and increased health care costs. For instance, inadequate sanitation is a major contributor to diarrhoeal disease that causes 760,000 preventable child deaths each year. Work and school productivity also suffer. For example, girls avoid school because of the lack of safe and proper sanitation.  Therefore, the Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Sanitation underscores that sanitation remains essential for sustainable development, personal dignity and economic opportunity.

                   It is important for all stakeholders to take a long-term perspective in addressing the remaining challenges in providing clean drinking water and sanitation.  To take an example, it is important to go beyond building sanitation facilities, and to educate local communities on their value and use.  Water-scarce countries could work with foreign companies in public-private partnerships to harness new technology to meet their water needs.

Mr President,

                   As a small country with an urban environment, water and sanitation were critical issues in Singapore’s development.  They remain so today. At independence in 1965, only 45% of the population had access to proper sanitation. Only after three decades did all Singaporeans have access to proper sanitation.  To achieve this, we had to clean up rivers, relocate businesses and industries, resettle squatters and create new infrastructure. Discipline, creativity and investment in infrastructure were also crucial factors in meeting the 100% target. Even today, we continue to overcome natural constraints. To ensure an adequate supply of water, we rely on an integrated network of reservoirs, water desalination, water reclamation and water imports.  For example, we have developed “NEWater”, where advanced membrane technology is used to purify used water to drinking standards.  Or as Secretary-General Ban ki-moon calls it, “the elixir of life.” 

                   Our development experience, including with water and sanitation, is something we are happy to share with others. Under the Singapore Cooperation Programme established in 1992, some 80,000 officials from over 170 countries have received training in areas like water management, sanitation and human resource development. 

                   To break the taboo and highlight the global challenge of sanitation, we tabled a resolution last year in the General Assembly to designate 19 November as World Toilet Day in the context of Sanitation for All.  As a follow up to the resolution, we organised the inaugural commemorative event on 19 November last year which was well attended by Member States, UN agencies, NGOs and private sector companies involved in the water and sanitation sector. All the participants in the event emphasised the need to achieve the MDG target on sanitation and to position water and sanitation prominently in the post-2015 development agenda.  For this year’s World Toilet Day event, we are planning to focus attention on the importance of water and sanitation for women and girls.

Mr President,

                   We believe that water and sanitation should be a stand-alone SDG and should be an integral part of the post-2015 development agenda. Access to improved sanitation and water is critical to poverty eradication, women’s empowerment, economic growth and social dignity for all.  Furthermore, water and sanitation have cross-cutting impact on many other aspects of development, including health, human rights, waste water management, governance, technology, investment and training. We should consolidate and build on the progress made by the MDGs.

                   In this regard, UN agencies, like UN Water and the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, have already done substantive work in identifying targets and indicators for an SDG on water and sanitation. Targets include: (i) eliminating the practice of open defecation by 2025; (ii) ensuring that schools and health care facilities provide all users with basic drinking water supply and adequate sanitation by 2030; (iii) ensuring adequate sanitation in homes, safe management of adequate sanitation by 2040; and (iv) delivering drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services in an affordable, accountable, and financially and environmentally sustainable manner. Identifying targets and indicators is not the end of the story.  We also need to look ahead and put in place the monitoring mechanisms and the necessary means of implementation and financing to ensure that the targets on water and sanitation are met.

Mr President,

                   We share the view that energy is crucial for sustainable development.  Access to reliable and affordable energy drives economic prosperity and social progress.  Without it, other development goals cannot be achieved.  Nevertheless, the world’s energy resources are finite.   In an increasingly resource- and carbon-constrained world, energy must be used sustainably.  As laid out in the UN Secretary General’s ‘Sustainable Energy For All’ initiative, sustainable energy is about matching the growing energy demand with sustainable sources of energy, including renewables, and the sustainable use of energy. 

               Singapore recognises that renewable energy can play a critical role in sustainable energy provision.  However, as an island city-state, Singapore is an "alternative energy-disadvantaged" country.  Hydroelectricity is not feasible given our relatively flat geography and lack of large rivers, and the potential for wave and wind energy is extremely limited.  Nuclear energy also poses risks that may be untenable for a small country like Singapore.

               In this regard, Singapore places great importance on energy efficiency.  It is core to our efforts to reduce emissions in all sectors.  To support this, the Energy Conservation Act came into effect in April 2013.  Singapore has also placed priority on developing areas such as clean energy.  We have switched from fuel oil to natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel, to generate our electricity since 2001 and convert all our waste to produce electricity. Today, more than 80% of our electricity is generated using natural gas.

               Given our special situation, our view is that while energy should be part of the post-2015 Development agenda, goals and targets relating to sustainable energy should be flexible and adaptable to unique national circumstances, priorities, and policies, in order for them to be applicable and effective.  The path to achieving sustainable energy in each country is idiosyncratic and complex, and should be tailored to suit the specific needs of the particular country. 

Thank you, Mr President.

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