Singapore is Greenest City In Asia, According to New Survey

Singapore has emerged as Asia’s greenest city thanks to a host of ambitious environmental programs and green initiatives, according to a new report. The Asia Green City Index — conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and funded by Siemens — evaluated the environmental performance of 22 Asian cities in eight critical categories, including energy and carbon emissions, land use, waste, air quality, enforcement, and resource management. One innovation cited in Singapore is an initiative to use micro-filtration to treat wastewater for re-use in industry or as drinking water. The report says other Asian cities — including Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei — have reduced pollution, increased energy efficiency, and reduced per capita consumption due to environmental initiatives. Among other findings, the report says Asian nations produce less waste (375 kilograms per capita) than Europe (511) or Latin America (465), and that annual carbon emissions per capita (4.6 tons) are lower than Europe (5.2 tons). Air pollution in Asian cities remains a problem, the report said, exceeding World Health Organization standards in all metropolitan areas.