Uma Shankari, Business Times 23 Feb 08;
But the price of carbon credits varies across regions and must be worked out
(SINGAPORE) Singapore should look at imposing a carbon tax as it strives to make its construction industry more sustainable, the chairman of the World Green Building Council said yesterday.
'I think you (Singapore) should consider a carbon tax,' Kevin Hydes told reporters on the sidelines of the FutureArc forum, a nine-city conference on green building.
The tax should be considered because it is a 'behaviour-shifting' idea, Mr Hydes said.
But problems need to be ironed out first, he said. For a start, the price of carbon credits has to be worked out. Right now, the price varies greatly from region to region.
Even without the tax, Singapore has taken great strides in making its buildings more green, Mr Hydes said.
'We all need to move faster, but I think Singapore is moving as fast as possible,' he said. On a per capita basis, Singapore probably has one of the highest incentives to encourage green building, he pointed out.
John Keung, chief executive of industry regulator the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), said at the forum that since the Green Mark scheme was introduced in 2005 to rate the environmental friendliness of buildings, 'green buildings are taking off'.
'Close to 100 buildings will be awarded the Green Mark by the end of this financial year, and another 200 buildings are in the pipeline,' he said.
Some 17 buildings attained the Green Mark in both 2005 and 2006. BCA is also looking at extending the scheme to include a Green Mark for Singapore's parks.
In addition, more than $15 million of a $50 million research and development (R&D) fund, set aside by the government to make the mass application of green building technology more cost-effective, has already been committed in support of various projects, Dr Keung said.
Mr Hydes said that while the green building movement in Singapore has been led by the government so far, industry could play a bigger part.
'Knowledge from academia, the power of industry and the government to regulate - we need all three,' he said. 'But the private sector should lead.'
A 'coalition model' would position Singapore as a regional leader in green building technology - something that the government would very much like, Mr Hydes said.
The World Green Building Council is a union of national councils in countries across the world, including Japan, the UK and the US. Collectively, the nations represented on the council account for more than 50 per cent of worldwide construction activity.
Green scheme to mark 100 buildings by next month
Straits Times 23 Feb 08;
GREEN buildings are finally taking off in Singapore after a slow start.
Results were sluggish when the Green Mark scheme began in 2005 but they are improving, said Building and Construction Authority (BCA) chief executive John Keung yesterday.
About 100 buildings will have been stamped with the Green Mark - which rates their environmental impact and performance - by next month, said Mr Keung. He added that there are another 200 buildings in the pipeline.
This is in stark contrast to the 17 buildings awarded both in 2005 and 2006.
'The industry has responded very well. This could only have been achieved with strong support from many green champions,' said Mr Keung, who was speaking at the Singapore leg of the inaugural FuturArc Forum on green buildings spanning nine regional cities.
The forum - organised by the BCA with Singapore-based construction information services firm BCI Asia - also heard from a green building expert, Mr Kevin Hydes.
Mr Hydes, chair of the not-for-profit World Green Building Council, told the 400-strong audience that buildings account for 33 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions - seen as the main culprit of climate change. In some cities, this hits 80 per cent.
'I don't think the global building industry has got the message out to the politicians that green buildings are part of the solution to climate change,' he said.
From April, it will be compulsory in Singapore for all new buildings and those undergoing major retrofitting to be green.
Mr Keung said BCA is in talks with the National Environment Agency to devise a scheme to give owners of old buildings incentives to go 'green' and upgrade.
Also in the pipeline is a joint BCA and National Parks Board Green Mark scheme for parks, which would involve the better use of lighting, water and other resources.
JESSICA CHEAM
