Government polices in Singapore have both helped and harmed the environment in a multitude of ways. However the balance of this situation tends to swing more towards that of harming the environment. This can be seen in both the local scene as well as that of the international stage.
Global warming is acknowledged as a major problem today, however the policies of Singapore just pays lip-service to the commitment to preserve the environment and preventing global warming.
This can be seen firstly in the international stage.
Singapore's policies, especially industrially, is pragmatic and aimed at attracting MNCs which include engineering and chemical industries, which inevitably expels tons of pollution and greenhouse gases, which contributes and worsens global warming. Singapore's foreign economic policy depicts Singapore as still a developing nation, and thus would be disadvantaged if she followed the bigger nations' international environmental treaties. Such an examples is the Kyoto
protocol, which is aimed to control the concentration of harmful greenhouse gases and to prevent adverse climate change. However compared to other countries and bigger nations, which not only signed the treaty but also promised a yearly commitment plan, Singapore did neither, but merely accepted the existance of such a treaty.
Locally, Singapore has made attempts to help the environment and the global warming crisis, but its effects are at best minimal to futile. Singapore created the Ministry of environment and water resources to handle this problem. Their 5 poilices include "Green Procurement and Partnership with Suppliers", "Pollution Prevention" , "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," , "Efficiency in Environmental Management" and "Compliance". All this measures do help to a certain degree in preventing and helping to minimalise the damage on the environment, however to attract more investors in the industrial sectors, this regulations cannot be too strictly enforced, as pollution prevent cost money apart from just awareness.
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Impressive introduction. I like the part "the balance of this situation tends to swing more towards..." It wowed me!
ReplyDeleteRefer to this sentence: "Singapore's foreign economic policy depicts Singapore as still a developing nation, and thus would be disadvantaged if she followed the bigger nations' international environmental treaties." I don't quite follow why would Singapore, as a developing nation, be disadvantaged should she sign environmental treaties. What is the link between being a developing nation and being disadvantaged? Perhaps more explanation could be useful here.
I would like to commend your effort in looking up the 5 policies of Ministry of environment and water resources. It certainly adds more juice to your essay.
There is a small error in the very last sentence: "...as pollution prevent cost money apart from just awareness." It should be pollution PREVENTION instead. Perhaps you were too eager to be done with it haha...
An impressive introduction!
ReplyDeleteI think that after every 'however' you use,you should put a comma.
I am not too sure whether there is a word 'minimalise', i think you can change it to minimise.
Your contents in the blog such as the Kyoto protocol and the 5 policies are very professional and good.
It impresses me a lot.