Singapore looking to strengthen haze law, may make amendments to address enforcement gaps: Grace Fu

SINGAPORE: Singapore is looking to strengthen existing legislation, including the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and introduce new laws where necessary to deal with companies responsible for the haze, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said on Tuesday (Oct 27).

"The objective is to address enforcement gaps, strengthen corporate accountability, and enhance our ability to investigate and take decisive action against those responsible for transboundary haze," she added.

"Where our laws need to be strengthened, we will strengthen them."

Ms Fu was speaking at the Singapore Environment Council-organised Sustainable Procurement Forum on Tuesday.

The haze is "preventable and unacceptable", and companies must take responsibility for the environmental impact of their operations and supply chains, she said.

Singapore is prepared to use a wider range of legal, regulatory and economic measures when it comes to tackling the issue, added the minister.

"Where parties responsible for the haze have interests in Singapore, there are other ways in which scrutiny can be brought to bear," said Ms Fu.

"These include legal and regulatory measures, as well as the scrutiny of investors, financiers and the market."

She said the increased scrutiny has already prompted companies to respond publicly and set out their positions.

"The broader point is that companies are accountable not only to regulators. Investors, financiers, customers and the wider public increasingly expect companies to demonstrate responsible environmental practices," she added.

Singapore has already taken steps to hold companies accountable over the recent haze.

The Singapore Environment Council on Oct 19 said that it had issued a notice of temporary restrictions on Indonesian paper firm Asia Pulp & Paper's enhanced Singapore Green Labelling Scheme certification, requiring the company to submit daily fire response reports.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) on Oct 23 issued notices to 10 Singapore-based firms to seek documents and information – the first time the agency has done so since the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act went into effect.

The 10 Singapore-registered companies are in the palm oil or forestry business and own land concessions in Indonesia or have related companies with such land concessions.

The agency is also seeking more information from the 10 Indonesian firms that were issued notices in the past week.