SPEECH BY MR TAN KIAT HOW, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MDDI & MOH, AT THE WESTERN PACIFIC ACTION FORUM ON CLIMATE-RESILIENT & SUSTAINABLE HEALTH SYSTEMS

Thank you, Professor Nick Watts,

Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific

Dr Susan Mercado, WHO Director for Programme Management in the Western Pacific

Dr Sandro Demaio, WHO Director and Head of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health

Distinguished Guests

1.            Very happy to join you here this evening at the Western Pacific Action Forum on Climate-resilient and Sustainable Health Systems. Singapore is honoured to host this inaugural forum.

2.            The forum theme of “Strengthening Health Systems for a Changing Climate” is an important one. It is a pressing challenge facing all countries.

3.            As a small island city-state, Singapore feels the urgency perhaps more sharply than many other larger nations. Singapore is warming at a rate faster than the global average, with projections showing temperatures rising by up to 5°C come end of this century, in 2100. There are significant implications for population health. That is why we are also taking concrete steps to address climate change.

Launch of the Singapore National Health Sector Emissions Baseline Report

4.             In line with our sustainability efforts, I am delighted to launch the Singapore National Health Sector Emissions Baseline Report. This report is one of the first comprehensive national studies of healthcare system emissions in Southeast Asia, grounded in Singapore’s local context and realities.

5.            It was developed through close collaboration between MOH and our healthcare partners – MOH Holdings (MOHH), NHG Health (NHG), National University Health System (NUHS), Singapore Health System (SHS), and the Agency of Logistics and Procurement Services (ALPS) – and experts from the Centre for Sustainable Medicine (CoSM) at the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine).

6.            This report marks a significant step forward in our sustainability journey. Importantly, this is also a call to action. Thus far, Singapore has been able to deliver world-class healthcare at a carbon intensity that is 20% below that of other advanced economies’ healthcare systems. And this is a good achievement. It is driven by several factors, such as negligible levels of refrigerant emissions despite our hot climate, and rapid reductions in anaesthetic gas emissions in recent years through the dedication of our healthcare partners.

7.            However, moving forward, we face many tight constraints such as our rapidly ageing population that requires more specialised care, relatively high accessibility to healthcare services, and high standards of care. As a consequence, our per-capita healthcare emissions are above the global average, on par with Japan and South Korea.

8.            Over the years, we have been implementing our decarbonisation strategy.

Singapore is taking steps to lower our healthcare sector emissions

9.            We are seeing some tangible returns from some of our efforts. Take Woodlands Health Campus (WHC), where thoughtful building orientation, passive cooling, solar panels, and rainwater harvesting have enabled the campus to be about 30% more energy efficient by design.

10.         At the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), we have Singapore's largest solar energy system within a healthcare institution, and it currently covers 15 to 20% of IMH’s electricity needs, saving about half a million Singapore dollars while cutting carbon emissions by approximately 1,438 tonnes annually.

11.         Equally important are the ground-up initiatives that help to drive change from within healthcare institutions. Anaesthetists at the National University Hospital (NUH) and Changi General Hospital (CGH) were able to identify a hidden source of emissions – nitrous oxide leaking from their central pipeline. Their upgraded system is now able to effectively reduce the incidence of leakages and maintain a safe and healthy care environment.

12.         These efforts make our system more efficient by lowering operating costs and freeing up resources to improve manpower capabilities and invest in technology that improve patient care. At the same time, it reduces emissions from the healthcare delivery process, which in turn contributes to better national healthcare outcomes. 

Creating a healthier and more sustainable future together

13.         The actions we will take will not only safeguard the health of our people but also strengthen the resilience and sustainability of our healthcare system in the face of mounting climate change challenges. By working closely together, we can transform the way healthcare is delivered, creating a healthier future for both our people and our planet.

14.         I look forward to hearing the discussions on decarbonisation of the healthcare sector during the panel session later.

15.         Thank you very much for being here, and for working tirelessly on this very important topic that is confronting all of us.