Singapore shows the way

If there is vision, good things simply follow! Like the 26-mile wide island Singapore. For years, Singapore has relied on imported water from Malaysia to provide 40 percent of its water supply.

To become more self-sufficient, Singapore has invested billions of dollars in membrane filtration technologies that allow wastewater to be reclaimed, filtered, and transformed into high purity potable water called NEWater. Desalination plants and rainwater-catching reservoirs have also helped reduce its reliance on imported water.

Singapore excels in building efficiency—an area with huge potential impact, given that an astounding 90 percent of the population lives in some form of high-rise condominium. Singapore has set an ambitious target of greening at least 80 percent of its buildings by 2030, including existing stock.

Using clean technology advancements Singapore has been making great strides in transportation, particularly around the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Since roughly 85 percent of Singapore’s power supply comes from natural gas, EVs provide a cleaner solution compared with conventional oil burning vehicles.

Singapore-based clean tech company Greenlots has been committed to designing and delivering hardware and software to enable utilities, municipalities, electric vehicle manufacturers and distributors and other private businesses to install, own and operate their own EV charging network. Already, it has established charging stations in major parking lots in the city.

One can argue that a small island can afford to change tracks which is difficult for larger nations and larger populations. But as the saying goes, where there is a will there is a way.