SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Joseph Chun, Shook Lin & Bok LLP
1. Regulatory Framework and Law 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws The key policies, principles and laws governing envi- ronmental protection in Singapore have been outlined below. • Long-Term Plan Review 2021 – Singapore’s non- statutory long-term land use plan. • Master Plan 2019 – Singapore’s statutory land use plan under the Planning Act 1998. • Singapore Green Plan 2030 – Singapore’s sustain- ability agenda, reinforcing Singapore’s commitment under the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement 2015, structured around five pillars: (a) city in nature; (b) energy reset; (c) sustainable living; (d) green economy; and (e) resilient future. • Building Control Act 1989 (“BCA”) – sets out requirements and standards for the environmental sustainability of new buildings, existing prescribed buildings changing their chillers, and mandates energy efficiency improvement for existing pre- scribed buildings in the top 25% of high energy intensity of their building sub-typology. • Carbon Pricing Act 2018 (“CPA”) – provides for a carbon tax on heavy emitters of greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) in prescribed sectors, and the use of eligible international carbon credits and grant of transitory allowances. • Electricity Act 2001 (“EA”) – imposes emission intensity standards and hydrogen-ready for new and re-powered fossil fuel-fired generation units. • Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 2006 (“ESA”) – regulates the import, export, and transit of specimens of prescribed species as set out in the Convention on International Trade in Endan- gered Species of Fauna and Flora of 1973. • Energy Conservation Act 2012 (“ECA”) – provides for heavy users of energy in prescribed sectors to establish energy management systems and submit energy efficiency improvement plans. Also provides minimum energy efficiency standards and man- datory energy efficiency labelling for prescribed
household appliances, as well as mandatory fuel economy and vehicle emissions labelling for vehi- cles sold in the course of business. • Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999 (“EPMA”) – regulates air pollution, water pol- lution, land pollution, noise pollution, the manage- ment of hazardous substances (“HS”), and the regulation of charging and decommissioning works involving specified water-cooled chillers using refrigerants with a high global warming potential (“gwp”) and the import and manufacture of refriger- ators and chillers that use GHGs with a high gwp. • Environmental Public Health Act 1987 (“EPHA”) – regulates waste collection and disposal, the construction and operation of disposal facilities, and requires heavy generators of waste to submit waste minimisation plans. • Fire Safety Act 1993 (“FSA”) – regulates the stor- age, import, transport, dispensation, and pipelines for the conveyance of petroleum and flammable materials. • Parks and Trees Act 2006 (“PTA”) – establishes national parks and nature reserves and regulates activities in these areas and public parks. • Planning Act 1998 (“PA”) – provides for the prepa- ration and publication of the 5-yearly land-use Master Plan, and for development control. • Hazardous Waste (Control of Export, Import and Transit) Act 1997 (“HWA”) – regulates the import, export, and transit of hazardous and other waste, as prescribed in the Basel Convention on the Con- trol of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal 1989. • Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act 1990 (“PPSA”) – provides for the regulation of the discharge of pollutants into the sea from land and vessels. • Public Utilities Act 2001 (“PUA”) – provides for the supply of piped water and regulates activities in reservoirs and waterways, and regulates the demand for water, including mandating the sub- mission of water efficiency plans by heavy users of water. • Resource Sustainability Act 2019 (“RSA”) – pro- vides for the recovery and disposal of e-waste, reporting on the use of packaging, and the separa- tion and on-site treatment of food waste in pre- scribed buildings.
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