SINGAPORE, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced on Tuesday that the city-state will make 80 percent of its buildings meet the minimum Green Mark Certified Standard by 2030.
He said that Singapore established the Green Mark scheme in 2005 as a set of environmental sustainability standards for buildings, and it had made a third of buildings meet the minimum standard by now.
He added that Singapore plans to reduce carbon emissions intensity by 36 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and one of its key strategies is to improve energy efficiency in buildings.
"This is because up to a quarter of our carbon emissions come from our buildings," Lee said. "So we have made it a priority to 'green' our buildings."
Lee delivered the speech at the opening ceremony of the Singapore Green Building Week, which is also the joint opening ceremony of International Green Building Conference (IGBC) and the Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia and Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) Asia exhibitions.
This year's IGBC, themed "Build Green: Be the Change," is the anchor event of the Singapore Green Building Week.
It will be held from Tuesday to Thursday in conjunction with two exhibitions, respectively Southeast Asia's leading trade exhibition for the green building market and the leading trade exhibition dedicated to energy efficient solutions.
The events attracted over 12,000 visitors from over 50 countries, including green building experts, industry professionals, policymakers and end-users.
Wang Youwei, chairman of China Green Building Council, will be a speaker at the IGBC talk event.
He told Xinhua that the visiting Chinese experts will discuss a series of cooperation intentions with their Singaporean counterparts, including joint research in the development of ecological urban areas, the sponge city, the reduction of carbon emission, the greening of existing buildings and the vertical planting.
Besides, over 400 brands participate in the exhibitions, among which 43 are exhibitors from China.
Ian Tang with Ganzhou Sentai Bamboo Wood Co., Ltd. said the company's green building material products are targeting the Singaporean and Southeast Asian markets and can perfectly meet the local standards.
"We are not just a manufacturer but also a service provider," he said, adding that the company will design and produce bamboo materials according to local customers' requirements on green building.
