Seated, Left to Right: Ms Junice Yeo (Moderator), Executive Director of Eco Business, Mr Syed Mubarak, Vice President, Sustainability & Technology of EPS (S) Pte Ltd, Ms Genevieve Ding, Head of Sustainability Policy Strategy of AWS (APAC and Japan), Dr Ng Wai Kiong, Deputy Executive Director of Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment, A*STAR
With climate change topping the agenda for governments globally today, it was apt that decarbonisation - as a necessary means to combat the climate crisis and meet emissions targets under international agreements - was discussed on the second day of GovInsider’s Festival of Innovation held on 14 July at Raffles City Convention Centre.
Speaking at a panel on “How government agencies can decarbonise”, Dr. Ng Wai Kiong, Deputy Executive Director from A*STAR’s Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2) shared the research efforts of the research institute in decarbonising the manufacturing industry, creating the “carbon capture, storage and utilisation” testbed as well as working on the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Dr Ng gave an example of how ISCE2 is working with the Public Utilities Board (PUB) in exploring the removal of carbon dioxide from biogas and carbonising it with waste materials to produce alternative sand, which can then be used in Singapore’s land reclamation applications and in the building construction industry. This concept contributes towards a circular economy.
He also called on the private sector industries to reach out to government agencies early to develop carbon capture and utilisation technologies in the PPP testbed, so as to accelerate the necessary regulatory approvals for implementation.
Other panellists included Ms. Genevieve Ding, Head of Sustainability Policy Strategy for APAC and Japan from Amazon Web Services, Mr. Syed Mubarak, Head of ESG Sub-Committee from Smart Cities Network and Dr. Sangmin Nam, Director for Environment and Development Division of UNESCAP. This panel session was directed by Ms. Junice Yeo, Executive Director from Eco-Business.
This year’s Festival of Innovation - back in its fourth edition - saw over 60 top-tier public sector speakers and 1000 attendees over two days.