Green Plan 2030 Dialogue- Louis Ng
Savour!’s 4th Webinar, “Singapore’s Green Plan Dialogue 2030 - Sourcing Food Sustainably” was an enriching session with our 5 honored panelists. In this blogpost feature, we will be diving into sharing more information about Louis Ng, one of our panelists as well as the key quotes he brought up in the webinar that serves as valuable takeaways for readers like you.
Louis Ng is a Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency for Nee Soon East. He is also the Founder of ACRES, which is a local charity that advocates for an end to animal cruelty in Asia. Their 5 focus areas are Tackling Wildlife Trade, Humane Education, Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Cruelty-Free Living and Community Outreach.
When asked about his views on the Green Plan Dialogue 2030 and what sustainability means to him, here’s what he said.
“A very important aspect of the Green Plan 2030 is that we’re trying to source locally so that we can source at least 30% of our nutritional needs through local production. We are aiming to ramp up the farming industry here and setting up more urban farms so that we can rely less on external sources across borders.
We are also seeing movement to plant based consumption among people in Singapore which is sustainable ,environmentally better and also healthy for us.
With the announcement of the Green plan, we have set ambitious targets for the next 9 years. It will be exciting to see the progress and how the plan plays out over the years.”
Q. In your opinion, what is the government’s role in Food Sustainability and the Green Plan 2030?
Ans. Obviously we’re here to set the policies and give a direction to the plan, but most importantly, my favourite part of the Green Plan is that it’s not just a Government approach, but it involves a whole society’s approach. So over the next few months and years, we’re here to mobilise Singaporeans on this journey. We are also very mindful of bringing the lower income communities on board in this journey as well.
That’s why we set up the schemes and grants to buy more energy efficient appliances, etc. Part of the consultation is to move forward in this change and to keep in mind all communities and not affect some significantly. So we have the Green Plan, now we need the buy-in not just from the Public or the Private sector but most importantly, the people sector.
Q. What do you think will be the food sustainability trends by 2024?
Ans. The big push now is going local. It has many benefits in terms of food security, reducing our emissions, helping to fight climate change, etc. The other important thing is how we can reduce food waste, because in Singapore we throw out an insane amount of food. In 2019 alone, it was over 700,000 tons.
This is one thing I’m hoping to address even though it is not specifically part of the Green Plan. Soon there will be a public consultation, where we plan to introduce a Private Members Bill which is a Good Samaritans Food Donation and that really is to remove liability from companies that donate food to food charities.
This solves two problems. One, it will reduce wastage of precious resources and reduce emissions. Two, the food that is not wasted and donated will help to feed the hungry in Singapore. We are trying to marry the two at this point.
Hopefully by next year, we can introduce this Bill in Parliament and pass it. In other countries this has really reduced the amount of food that is wasted, so we’re really looking forward to it. The ultimate aim is to educate people about how much change can be made and how much edible food is being thrown away everyday.
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Written by Subhi Poddar
Subhi Poddar is a Marketing & Communications Intern at Savour!