Additional S$45m for green building innovation, S$64m for urban sustainability R&D

MORE funding will go towards research into green buildings and urban sustainability, as Singapore works towards its Singapore Green Building Masterplan and climate change goals, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said at a joint segment on the Singapore Green Plan 2030 in Parliament on Tuesday (Mar 8).

This includes an additional S$45 million for the Green Buildings Innovation Cluster (GBIC), and an additional S$64 million into research and developments (R&D) under the City in Nature and Greater Sustainability pillars of the Cities of Tomorrow programme.

Set up by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in 2014, the GBIC is an integrated research, development and demonstration hub for green building technologies.

"Under GBIC 2.0, we want to target key demand drivers, such as building owners and developers, as well as their value chains, to jointly develop innovative solutions. These include energy-efficient cooling technologies, smart building systems and enhanced building ventilation," Lee said.

He added that MND will help local firms with the commercialisation of such green solutions through industry partnerships.

Meanwhile, the Cities of Tomorrow R&D programme is aimed at improving urban sustainability, such as by designing greener buildings for Singapore's tropical climate.

For example, BCA and the National University of Singapore (NUS) are currently exploring the use of weather sensors and smart watches that track how building occupants respond to indoor conditions, to optimise cooling and ventilation systems and help reduce energy consumption for air conditioning, Lee noted.

"This will support us in developing innovative solutions for a more sustainable, liveable, and resilient city," he said.