Singapore not ready yet

The discussion topic was whether our home country, Singapore, supports Kirchoff’s claim that “a collaborative effort by industry, academia, and government will promote the adoption of green chemistry technologies that are necessary to achieve a sustainable society”? The group feels that Singapore is still not ready to adopt green chemistry technologies, as there is much work to be done for Singapore to be in sync with the model of a sustainable society.

The model of a sustainable society works by having the government as a middleman. The government sends scouts to find out about the latest and most promising green chemistry technologies. They then pass on their findings to the various academic institutions (mainly the universities) for them to embark on projects on these new green chemistry technologies. After making discoveries, the academic institutions will then in turn feedback to the government whether the green chemistry technologies in question are feasible and viable for the nation. If so, the government will then encourage the industry players to adopt these green chemistry technologies.

Even though this model can bring about lucrative profits to the nation, help cut cost and provide for a cleaner environment, there are many shortcomings. There is too much governmental control over the entire process. Government policies usually take some time before being implemented; as such, this may lead to slow progress. The lack of privatization would also affect the academic institutions’ freedom to research on their technology of choice. Lastly, as industries are profit driven, they may not welcome the idea of investing in green technologies if there are better opportunities in other areas. Furthermore, the government has a limitation in their power to intervene for fear of losing the Multi-National Corporations (MNCs).

In conclusion, under the surface of the benefits green chemistry technologies promise, there are actually many problems to be considered when adopting a model of a sustainable society. Singapore still has some way to go before she is ready to adopt such a model.