Straits Times Forum 17 Aug 09;
I WRITE in response to last Tuesday's report, 'Will you need to pay an emissions tax for your flight?'.
It is heartening to hear that the civil aviation industry recognises the need to take bold steps to make itself climate-friendly. This is despite the difficulties it faces in setting an international rate for emissions pricing, due to uneven demand for such a scheme in different countries.
However, if the International Civil Aviation Organisation is committed to being climate-friendly, despite this challenge, how does Singapore, a country where it is relatively easy to implement policy due to its small size, compare in terms of its environmental policies?
Consider, for example, the use of plastic bags. They have a large environmental footprint. It is estimated that the manufacture of one plastic bag emits 200g of carbon dioxide. Moreover, when disposed of, they either take up space in landfill, or emit noxious gases when incinerated.
In Taiwan and Hong Kong, plastic bags are banned unless consumers pay for them. In Singapore, there is the weekly Bring Your Own Bag day, an exercise that relies on the altruism of voluntary participants - which is far less effective than an economic mechanism which sends constant price signals to consumers.
The Electronic Road Pricing system shows Singapore is no stranger to using economic instruments to achieve its policy goals. If a 'Sustainable Singapore' is indeed on the agenda of policymakers, they should also think about environmental pricing.
Curbing the use of plastic bags - so common in everyday life, yet so easily replaceable with re-usable bags - could be the low-hanging fruit Singaporeans could start with.
Lau Ying Shan (Miss)
