STATEMENT BY MR MARTIN YII, DELEGATE TO THE 72ND SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ON AGENDA ITEM 19: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SECOND COMMITTEE, 9 OCTOBER 2017

Thank you, Mr Chairman.

1                 Singapore aligns itself with the statements made by Ecuador on behalf of the Group of 77 and China; the Maldives on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS); and the Philippines on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).  I would also like to thank the Secretary-General for the various reports on this agenda item.

Mr Chairman,

2                 We have seen a series of devastating natural disasters in the past year: hurricanes in the Caribbean and south-eastern United States; monsoon rains and floods in Asia; earthquakes in Mexico, and mudslides in Africa.  These have underscored the importance of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), the Paris Agreement on climate change and other related agreements and outcomes in order to protect our planet and  build a more resilient and sustainable future for our peoples.   There is an urgent need to implement our commitments under these agreements.

Mr Chairman,

3                 Every country has its own national priorities and unique challenges.  As we work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and our climate commitments, there is much to learn from the experiences of each country.  This will allow us to enhance our efforts to eradicate poverty, tackle inequality and combat climate change.  Allow me to share three lessons we learnt from Singapore’s own sustainable development journey.

4                 First, policies would need to incentivise action on the ground.  The government can formulate policies and regulations to require minimum energy efficiency standards; and companies can design better products that exceed those standards.  However, these actions will be fruitless if individuals continue with wasteful habits such as leaving the lights switched on when not in use. There is a need to also design policies that would incentivise individuals to take the right actions.  In Singapore, we have priced resources right and encouraged the use of smart meters to avoid wastage.  These smart meters allow consumers to see for themselves the amount of energy that they are consuming as well as their costs.  In this way, individuals can make the right choices.  We have captured our national vision and plans for a more liveable and sustainable Singapore in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint.  The Blueprint, which was updated recently, is a plan for the public, private and people sectors to work together as committed participants to create a better home, a better environment and a better future.

5                 Second, integration and cooperation between the public and private sectors are crucial to improving efficiencies and optimising our limited resources in order to achieve sustainable development.  In Singapore, we are co-locating a new water reclamation plant with an integrated waste management facility to effectively harness process synergies from used water and solid waste treatment.  The co-location and integration improve overall plant thermal efficiency and will allow both facilities to be energy self-sufficient.  Singapore has also utilised public-private partnerships for various projects, including water treatment plants and waste disposal facilities, to attract private sector financing and bring in private operational capacity.  

6                 Third, we must all be ready to start small and to start now, in finding fresh solutions to challenges old and new.  While the large projects are the ones that grab the headlines, it is the small pilot experiments and projects that will pave the way for the scaling up and implementation of new solutions.  In Singapore, NEWater, which is a high-grade recycled water produced from treated used water, is a key pillar of our water sustainability strategy.  Few are aware that Singapore built the first pilot plant in 1974 to treat used water in order to produce potable water.  However, this pilot plant was eventually shut down as the technology was expensive and unreliable then.  Nevertheless, we continued to keep abreast of technological developments; and the turning point came when the technology matured and became more affordable in the late 1990s.  Today, Singapore has five NEWater plants, which can meet up to 40 per cent of Singapore’s water needs.

Mr Chairman,

7                 The three lessons we have learnt is by no means the only takeaways in our joint endeavour to implement the 2030 Agenda.  Pursuing sustainable development is an ongoing journey.  We have much to learn from the development experiences of each other.  What is key is for us to pool our resources and expertise and work together in a spirit of partnership and cooperation to implement the goals that we have set for ourselves in the 2030 Agenda.  In this regard, Singapore looks forward to continuing to share our experiences with and learn from other countries, including at our upcoming Voluntary National Review (VNR) of progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July 2018, under the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”.

8                 Singapore looks forward to the in-depth review of SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities, SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production and SDG 16 on life on land, in addition to SDG 17 on means of implementation, at the 2018 HLPF.  Pending the outcome of in-depth review of SDG 6 next year, Singapore will continue to work hard to raise global attention to the sanitation challenge facing the world.  In this regard, Singapore looks forward to commemorating World Toilet Day next month in collaboration with our partners at UN-Water again this year.  We hope that every country will join us in our efforts to fully implement SDG 6 and end open defecation.

9                 I thank you.

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