Singapore is Asia’s greenest city

Singapore is the greenest city in Asia according to a new study 'Asian Green City Index'. The study was commissioned by Siemens and carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).


The research looked at 22 Asian cities’ environmental performance and climate protection measures.

Singapore city stood out for its ambitious targets and its efficient approach to achieving them. Karachi came bottom of the table.

Eight categories were applied to the research: energy and CO2, land use and buildings, transport, waste, water, sanitation, air quality and environmental governance.

The study found that higher income does not necessarily equal higher resource consumption. While resource consumption rises substantially up to an annual GDP of about Euro 15,000 per capita, it drops again when income rises beyond this.

The reason, says the report, is that prosperous Asian cities have greater environmental awareness and infrastructures are more efficient. The cities actively cut their consumption of natural resources.

Jan Friederich, research head of the EIU study said “Cities that performed well in the Index are characterised by their ability to successfully implement environmental projects and consistently enforce regulations.”

The biggest challenges for Asian cities are air pollution levels, the development of renewable energies and population growth where rural populations have moved to the cities.

This increased urbanisation is having a huge impact on infrastructure, with a strain being put on energy, clean water and transportation.

Siemens chief sustainability officer, Barbara Kux, said: “The battle against climate change will be decided in cities.

“This applies to Asia, with its booming conurbations, more than anywhere else on earth. But only green cities will make life worth living over the long term.”

Alison Brown

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe