Visit By Ms Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, to Singapore, 23 May 2025

Ms Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, visited Singapore from 14 to 23 May 2025. As Special Rapporteur, Ms Puentes Riaño conducts country visits to examine issues relevant to her mandate, which includes promoting good practices relating to human rights that strengthen environmental protection, and identifying challenges to the enjoyment of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

Ms Puentes Riaño had a wide range of meetings and site visits during her ten-day visit. Ms Puentes Riaño met Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. They discussed Singapore’s approach to environmental sustainability in light of our unique context as a small, densely populated city-state, as well as the need to balance competing needs in our ongoing efforts to build a liveable, sustainable, socially inclusive and economically vibrant country. She also had discussions with officials from multiple agencies¹, Members of Parliament, a Judge of the High Court, and other stakeholders. She was briefed on the Singapore Green Plan; our policy approaches toward issues including climate change, water, clean air, and biodiversity; our public engagement process; and Singapore’s contribution to global and regional efforts to promote sustainability and climate action. We explained Singapore’s pragmatic, outcomes-based approach to the protection and promotion of human rights where we continually strive to achieve better outcomes for our people in a manner that reflects our evolving national context.

Ms Puentes Riaño recognised Singapore’s efforts to address climate change, including our submission of the 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in February 2025 which raised our climate ambition. She noted that Singapore is the first Southeast Asian nation to implement a carbon tax, and that we are active in the negotiation and implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on carbon markets. We reaffirmed our strong commitment to addressing climate change and shared our challenges including our lack of alternative energy options and carbon sinks, and the need to rely on technology and international cooperation to overcome our constraints to fully decarbonise.

We appreciate Ms Puentes Riaño’s recognition of Singapore’s active leadership in climate action, international law, and the environment in multilateral fora. She noted Singapore’s contribution to the global governance of oceans over the years including our leadership role in the conclusion of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Agreement under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). We affirmed Singapore’s commitment to strengthening the rules-based multilateral system and enhancing global cooperation to address climate change and environmental challenges.

We appreciate Ms Puentes Riaño’s recognition that planning is a key feature of the Singapore Government’s policy approach. In particular, she noted Singapore’s long-term, science-based approach to sustainable development – one that seeks to secure the well-being of both present and future generations, and ensure the responsible stewardship of our resources. She also commended Singapore’s whole-of-nation approach and close inter-agency coordination as a key strength in advancing our goals.

Ms Puentes Riaño noted that spaces for engagement in Singapore have increased in the last decade. She noted the various mechanisms Singapore has established for citizen engagement and our commitment to balancing the range of views and concerns of stakeholders. We exchanged views on the public engagement process. Singapore reaffirmed our commitment to our whole-of-society approach which incorporates diverse perspectives, while ensuring that the process remains constructive.

Singapore thanks Ms Puentes Riaño for her visit and sharing her perspectives. We had open and constructive discussions with a view to deepening mutual understanding, even if there were different perspectives on some issues. We will study and consider her recommendations carefully. We look forward to reading her full report in due course.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

23 MAY 2025

¹Ms Puentes Riaño met with officials from the following agencies:

•         Ministry of Foreign Affairs

•         Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment

•         Ministry of National Development

•         Ministry of Health

•         Ministry of Trade and Industry

•         Ministry of Law

•         Attorney-General’s Chambers

•         Urban Redevelopment Authority

•         National Climate Change Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office

•         Centre for Liveable Cities

•         National Environment Agency

•         PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

•         National Parks Board

•         JTC Corporation

•         Economic Development Board

•         Singapore Food Agency