Environmental Law 2025 Comparisons

The key policies, principles and laws governing environmental protection in Singapore have been outlined below.

• Long-Term Plan Review 2021 – Singapore’s non-statutory long-term land use plan.
• Master Plan 2019 – Singapore’s statutory land use plan under the Planning Act 1998.
• Singapore Green Plan 2030 – Singapore’s sustainability agenda, reinforcing Singapore’s commitment under the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement 2015, structured around five pillars:
1. city in nature;
2. energy reset;
3. sustainable living;
4. green economy; and
5. resilient future. 
• Building Control Act 1989 (“BCA”) – sets out requirements and standards for the environmental sustainability of new buildings, existing prescribed buildings changing their chillers, and mandates energy efficiency improvement for existing prescribed buildings in the top 25% of high energy intensity of their building sub-typology.
• Carbon Pricing Act 2018 (“CPA”) – provides for a carbon tax on heavy emitters of greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) in prescribed sectors, and the use of eligible international carbon credits and grant of transitory allowances.
• Electricity Act 2001 (“EA”) – imposes emission intensity standards and hydrogen-ready for new and re-powered fossil fuel-fired generation units.
• Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 2006 (“ESA”) – regulates the import, export, and transit of specimens of prescribed species as set out in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora of 1973.
• Energy Conservation Act 2012 (“ECA”) – provides for heavy users of energy in prescribed sectors to establish energy management systems and submit energy efficiency improvement plans. Also provides minimum energy efficiency standards and mandatory energy efficiency labelling for prescribed household appliances, as well as mandatory fuel economy and vehicle emissions labelling for vehicles sold in the course of business.
• Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999 (“EPMA”) – regulates air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, noise pollution, the management of hazardous substances (“HS”), and the regulation of charging and decommissioning works involving specified water-cooled chillers using refrigerants with a high global warming potential (“gwp”) and the import and manufacture of refrigerators and chillers that use GHGs with a high gwp.
• Environmental Public Health Act 1987 (“EPHA”) – regulates waste collection and disposal, the construction and operation of disposal facilities, and requires heavy generators of waste to submit waste minimisation plans.
• Fire Safety Act 1993 (“FSA”) – regulates the storage, import, transport, dispensation, and pipelines for the conveyance of petroleum and flammable materials.
• Parks and Trees Act 2006 (“PTA”) – establishes national parks and nature reserves and regulates activities in these areas and public parks.
• Planning Act 1998 (“PA”) – provides for the preparation and publication of the 5-yearly land-use Master Plan, and for development control.
• Hazardous Waste (Control of Export, Import and Transit) Act 1997 (“HWA”) – regulates the import, export, and transit of hazardous and other waste, as prescribed in the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal 1989.
• Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act 1990 (“PPSA”) – provides for the regulation of the discharge of pollutants into the sea from land and vessels.
• Public Utilities Act 2001 (“PUA”) – provides for the supply of piped water and regulates activities in reservoirs and waterways, and regulates the demand for water, including mandating the submission of water efficiency plans by heavy users of water.
• Resource Sustainability Act 2019 (“RSA”) – provides for the recovery and disposal of e-waste, reporting on the use of packaging, and the separation and on-site treatment of food waste in prescribed buildings.
• Road Traffic Act 1961 (“RTA”) – regulates vehicular emissions, including by prescribing rebates and taxes for the registration of vehicles based on their vehicular emissions; and offers a rebate on the additional registration fee for electric vehicles registered not later than 2026.
• Sewerage and Drainage Act 1999 (“SDA”) – regulates discharges of pollutants into public sewers.
• Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014 (“THPA”) – regulates activities outside Singapore that cause or contribute to haze pollution in Singapore.
• Wildlife Act 1965 (“WA”) – regulates the killing, taking, trapping, keeping, feeding and release of wildlife.
• Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 (“WSHA”) – regulates aspects of environmental risks that may threaten the health and safety of workers, such as exposure to asbestos, HS, hazardous atmospheres in confined spaces, and excessive noise.

The key regulatory authorities and bodies responsible for environmental policy and enforcement in Singapore include:

• Ministry of Manpower (“MOM”);
• Ministry of National Development;
• Ministry of Sustainability and Environment (“MSE”);
• Ministry of Transport;
• Building Control Authority (“BCA”);
• Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (“CAAS”);
• JTC Corporation (“JTC”);
• National Climate Change Secretariat;
• National Environment Authority (“NEA”);
• National Parks Board (“NParks”);
• Urban Redevelopment Authority (“URA”);
• Land Transport Authority (“LTA”);
• Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (“MPA”);
• Public Utilities Board (“PUB”); and
• Singapore Civil Defence Force (“SCDF”).

Mechanisms for co-operation with the regulatory authorities include:

• mandatory obligations such as licensing, reporting/disclosures/monitoring of emissions or energy usage and resource efficiency improvement plans; and on-site inspections by regulators;
• administrative collaboration, such as consultation with industry on proposed new environmental legislation, such as the CPA and the RSA, and public consultation on environmental impact assessment reports; and
• voluntary initiatives such as partnerships (eg, the Packaging Partnership Programme administered by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (“SMF”) in partnership with NEA to support companies in adopting sustainable packaging waste management practices; and the Guidelines on Sustainable E-commerce Packaging developed by the Alliance for Action on Packaging Waste Reduction co-led by the SMF and Singapore Post and supported by NEA, and incentives (eg, Enterprise Singapore’s Energy Efficiency Grant)).

“Environmental assets” such as air, freshwater and seawater, soil, flora and fauna, natural habitats, and landscapes in Singapore are protected under various legislation administered by different regulators.

Air

• Air quality is protected through the regulation of air pollutants under the EPMA, which establishes quantitative and qualitative standards.
• Vehicular emissions are regulated under the RTA.
• Transboundary air pollution from fires outside Singapore is regulated under the TPHA, which is administered by the NEA.

Water and Soil

• Freshwater and land are protected through licensing and discharge standards for the discharge of pollutants into drains and surface and subsurface bodies of water, as administered by the NEA under the EPMA.
• Activities in reservoirs and waterways are regulated under the PUA, administered by PUB.

Sea

• Singapore’s territorial waters are protected from pollution through the prohibition of the discharge of pollutants into the sea from land or from ships, as outlined in the PPSA, administered by the MPA.

Fauna and Flora, Natural Habitats and Landscapes

• The WA regulates the killing, trapping, taking, keeping, feeding, release and sale of wildlife.
• The export and import of animals and plants is regulated through licensing under the Animals and Birds Act, WA, and ESA, administered by NParks.
• Fauna and flora within designated natural habitats on land and in the sea and seabed are protected through the regulation of activities within these areas under the PTA, administered by NParks.
• The development of land and material changes of use of land, including natural habitats and landscapes, as well as land near these areas, are regulated through development control under the PA, administered by URA.   

The potential consequences of breaching environmental protection laws, depending on the nature and seriousness of the breach, include:

• criminal prosecutions, which may result in imprisonment and/or fines (including continuing fines for continuing breaches);
• administrative sanctions, such as stop work orders, and directives to implement measures to prevent pollution, mandates to clean up discharges or pollution, and orders to pay for clean-up costs, as well as the revocation of permits and licenses;
• offers of composition (payment of a sum of money) in lieu of prosecutions without admission of guilt; and
• warnings/advisories on compliance.

To investigate environmental incidents and breaches of environmental law or permits, regulatory authorities have wide-ranging investigative and access powers, including:

• entering premises at any reasonable time to check compliance with environmental law or permit conditions;
• stopping, boarding, and inspecting ships, vehicles, or aircraft suspected of carrying hazardous waste illegally;
• taking air, water, effluent, and soil samples for analysis;
• conducting on-site measurements of emissions or discharges;
• demanding production of books, documents, or records;
• accessing and seizing electronic records;
• requiring persons on-site to provide information relevant to investigations;
• taking signed statements;
• seizing machinery, containers, vehicles, substances, or specimens used in the commission of an offence; and
• entering premises to contain threats of urgent and serious environmental pollution.

Circumstances in which environmental permits are required in Singapore include:

• the development of land and material change of use of land (in accordance with PA);
• the use of premises for certain purposes, such as: (i) cement works; (ii) concrete works; (iii) asphalt works; (iv) ceramic works; (v) chemical works; (vi) coke or charcoal works; (vii) metal works; (viii) gas works; (ix) crushing, grinding, and milling works; (x) petroleum works; (xi) scrap metal recovery works; (xii) primary metallurgical works; (xiii) pulping works; and (xiv) abrasive blasting works (in accordance with EPMA); 
• the operation or import of incinerators, boilers, and other polluting equipment such as off-road diesel engines (in accordance with EPMA);
• the discharge of wastewater into any drain or land (in accordance with EPMA);
• the import, storage, sale, transport, or use of HS (in accordance with EPMA);
• the collection of waste (in accordance with EPMA);
• the construction, establishment, or operation of a waste disposal facility (in accordance with EPHA);
• the import, export, and transit of hazardous waste (in accordance with HWA);
• the carrying on of certain activities potentially harmful to fauna or flora in national parks, nature reserves, and public parks (in accordance with PTA);
• the export and import of endangered species of fauna and flora (in accordance with ESA); and
• the killing, taking, trapping, keeping, feeding, release, sale, export, and import of wildlife and the setting of wildlife traps (in accordance with WA).

Most applications are made online directly by applicants through government licensing portals such as the GoBusiness Singapore portal.

Appeals from the decisions of regulators to reject applications for permits or subject the issuance of permits to conditions may often be made to the Minister in charge of the Ministry whose purview the regulator comes under. The Minister’s decision is usually final, and avenues to the court for judicial review are sometimes explicitly excluded.

Regulators in Singapore take a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to environmental policy. They integrate and balance this policy pragmatically with economic and security priorities. Additionally, they coordinate their efforts and resources across various agencies and sectors to achieve synergistic outcomes.

Enforcement is conducted in a graduated manner, focusing on industry consultation and capacity building through briefings, advisories, guidance, and other forms of assistance to facilitate compliance in the first instance.

Enforcement action is proportionate to the gravity of the breach, with warnings issued for technical or administrative lapses, and prosecution, licence suspension/revocation, and/or stop-work orders for serious/repeat breaches.

Detection and investigation of offences and subsequent enforcement are swift to enhance deterrence, and offenders are sometimes named (and shamed) for added deterrence and to signal a low tolerance for egregious breaches.       

Environmental permits/approvals are generally issued to a named person, entity, or facility, and are not transferable.

In some instances, a change in ownership of the named permitted or approved entity or facility may necessitate the regulator’s consent for the permit or approval to remain valid; otherwise, a new permit or approval might be required.

The breach of an environmental approval/permit in Singapore may, in some cases, be an offence (eg, under the EPMA and EPHA).

Where it is an offence to carry out an activity without an environmental approval or permit, conducting an activity differently from what has been approved or permitted, or breaching the conditions of the approval or permit, may be considered as engaging in a different activity or conducting it in a manner that has not been approved or permitted; therefore, this could also be deemed an offence. 

Administratively, the breach of an environmental approval/permit may also result in the approval/permit being suspended or revoked, or the issuance of a stop work order or an order to carry out remediation works.

Where a security deposit has been required to be provided for a permit (eg, under HWA), the deposit may be forfeited.

The breach of conditions of an approval/permit may also jeopardise the success of future applications for similar approvals/permits.   

Polluters

Polluters may be liable in criminal and civil law for environmental damage and/or breaches of environmental law.

They could also be liable in tort for environmental damage (see 10.1 Civil Claims).

Operators

Operators who are not polluters may be criminally liable for causing or permitting discharges/emissions into environmental media.

They could also be liable for environmental damage in tort (see 10.1 Civil Claims) under vicarious liability (as an employer of a polluter who pollutes in the course of employment) or in negligence if the operator assumed a duty of care not to cause environmental damage (eg, as the parent company of a subsidiary that polluted or caused or permitted pollution).

Occupiers

Occupiers may be presumed liable in criminal law for breaches of environmental law on their premises unless they can prove that they did not breach or cause or permit the breach of environmental law (eg, EPMA).

They may also be liable in tort for environmental damage (see 10.1 Civil Claims).

Landowners

Landowners who are not polluters, operators, or occupiers may be liable in tort for environmental damage (see 10.1 Civil Claims):

Contractual Liability

Polluters, operators, occupiers, and landowners may also be liable in contract (eg, under a lease or loan agreement) if they are under a contractual duty to ensure no environmental damage takes place (regardless of how the pollution happened).

Current operators and landowners are not criminally liable for historical environmental incidents or damage unless they are directly involved in, or have caused or permitted, the incident or damage. Nevertheless, landowners may be required to reimburse the regulator (eg, NEA) for the immediate execution of any work within the scope of the legislation which the regulator considers necessary in the case of an emergency to prevent injury or danger to public health or safety or serious pollution of the environment (eg, under EPMA and EPHA).

A landowner seeking planning permission under the PA for a material change of use of land from a pollutive activity to a non-pollutive activity may be required to clean up the historical damage before planning permission is granted (see 12.1 Key Laws Governing Contaminated Land).

Operators, occupiers, and landowners may also be liable in tort for environmental damage caused by third parties (see 5.1 Key Types of Liability). 

Environmental offences are generally considered strict liability offences. This means that a lack of intent or fault may not serve as a defence. Instead, a potential defendant can defend themselves by demonstrating that they exercised all due diligence to prevent the prohibited act from occurring.

Common defences for tortious liability include acts of God, statutory authority (for nuisance), and contributory negligence (a partial defence for negligence).

Due diligence and the act of God may also potentially be defences to administrative liability.

Offences by Corporate Entities

In Singapore, environmental legislation commonly states that if a corporate entity commits an offence, a director, manager, secretary, or similar officer of the company is also considered guilty of the same offence. However, the officer can avoid liability if they can demonstrate that the offence by the corporate entity occurred without officer's consent, connivance, or negligence.

Environmental taxes in Singapore include:

• carbon tax (a tax on GHG emissions) under the CPA;
• water conservation tax (a tax on water consumption) and waterborne tax (designed to cover the cost of treating used water and maintaining the used water network) under the PUA; and
• vehicular emissions tax (a tax on the pollutant emission intensity based on the design specifications of a motor vehicle) under the RTA.

Within emission-intensive trade-exposed sectors, the performance on specified energy efficiency or GHG emission intensity benchmarks or decarbonisation plans of a company may be a consideration when the Minister is deciding the number of transitory allowances to award the company under the CPA (the greater the number of transitory allowances awarded to a company, the less carbon tax it must pay for its emissions). 

The adoption of sound environmental management systems, as evidenced by voluntary certifications such as ISO 14001, may be considered a form of due diligence and thus a defence against strict liability environmental offences.

Environmental legislation may provide for repeat offenders to be subject to higher maximum punishment than first-time offenders. Judges may also consider higher penalties for repeat environmental offenders. 

The general rule is that a company is a separate legal person from its shareholders or parent company. Shareholders and parent companies are therefore generally not liable for the environmental damage or breaches of environmental law.

In exceptional circumstances, courts may “pierce the corporate veil” to hold a shareholder attempting to shelter behind a corporate facade to hide his crime and his benefits from it.

Under the THPA, it is an offence for an entity to participate in the management or operational affairs of another entity that is an owner or occupier of land outside Singapore and engages in conduct that causes or contributes to haze pollution in Singapore at or about the time there is haze pollution in Singapore.

ESG requirements in Singapore have been outlined below.

• The Singapore Exchange (“SGX”) Listing Rules require listed issuers to provide an annual sustainability report on a “comply or explain” basis. The sustainability reporting process must be subject to internal review.
• Listed issuers must also make climate related disclosures as follows:
1. for financial year commencing (“FYC”) 2025, all listed companies must report their Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions in accordance with the International Sustainability Standards Board (“ISSB”)’s IFRS S2 disclosure standard, but Straits Times Index (“STI”) constituents (the top 30 companies by market capitalisation on the SGX Main Board), are also required to make most of the ISSB climate-related financial disclosures (Scope 3 GHG emissions excluded);
2. for FYC 2026, STI constituents must report Scope 3 GHG emissions;
3. for FYC 2028, non-STI constituents with a market capitalisation of at least SGD1 billion must also make the ISSB climate-related financial disclosures (Scope 3 GHG emissions excluded);
4. for FYC 2029, all listed companies must obtain external limited assurance for Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions; and
5. for FYC 2030, non-STI constituent listed companies with a market capitalisation of less than SGD1 billion must also make the ISSB climate-related financial disclosures (excluding Scope 3 GHG emissions).
• The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”) has announced that from FY 2030, large non-listed companies (annual revenue of at least SGD1 billion and total assets of at least SGD500 million) must make the ISSB climate-related financial disclosures (excluding Scope 3 emissions) and from FY 2032 must obtain external limited assurance for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) issued its separate Guidelines for Environmental Risk Management for banks, insurers and asset managers (collectively “FIs”) in 2020, setting out MAS’ expectations on environmental risk management by FIs, and for FIs to publicly disclose their governance and strategy, risk management, and environmental risk information.   
• To mitigate the risk of greenwashing, MAS’ Circular 02/2022 has clarified for fund managers and trustees its expectation of how existing requirements under the Code on Collective Investment Schemes and the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations apply to retail ESG funds, and the disclosure and reporting guidelines applicable to these funds.
• MAS also consulted in 2023 on its proposed Guidelines on Transition Planning, setting out MAS’ expectations that they have a sound transition planning process to angle effective climate change mitigation and adaptation measures by their customers.

Owners of buildings with post-2010 planning permission; and owners of “prescribed buildings” (buildings of at least 5,000 m2 excluding residential developments, industrial buildings, railway premises, port services and facilities, and airport services and facilities) that have undergone “major energy-use changes” (ie, the installation, substantial alteration or replacement of a building’s water-cooled/air-cooled chiller) since 2014, must subject their buildings to mandatory periodic energy audits if issued a notice by BCA to do so.

NEA “strongly encourages” HS licensees and permit holders to implement a safety audit procedure in accordance with its Safety Audit Guidelines.

Directors and other officers of a company can also be held personally criminally liable in addition to the company’s criminal liability for an environmental law offence committed by the company. This applies if the company’s offence took place with the consent or knowledge of the director or officer, or if the company’s offence resulted from any actions or failures attributed to the director or officer. In such cases, the director or officer may be subject to the same range of penalties applicable for the offence committed by the company.

Directors and other officers of a company are generally not personally liable for environmental damage caused by the company; however:

• legislation may provide otherwise – for example, clean-up costs may be recovered from directors and officers under the EPMA if they are personally criminally liable for breaches of environmental law committed by companies with their consent or connivance;
• directors and other officers may be personally liable if they are a party to a contract that holds them liable for the environmental damage caused by the company, or if they have personally committed a tort (see 10.1 Civil Claims);
• insurance (directors and officers (“D&O”) liability insurance) coverage may be available to indemnify directors and officers against personal liability for financial loss resulting from wrongful acts, such as negligence; albeit, D&O insurance policies will typically exclude liability arising from wilful breaches; and
• public policy generally prohibits insuring against criminal liability, and D&O insurance policies also typically exclude coverage for criminal fines and penalties.

Environmental insurance is available in Singapore to cover liabilities such as environmental impairment liability, pollution legal liability, covering risks including:

• first-party remediation/clean-up costs;
• third-party liability for bodily injury or property damage due to pollution;
• legal defence/investigation costs; and
• contractors’ operations.

Generally, there are no mandatory environmental insurance requirements for companies. However, NEA has the authority, with the Minister’s approval, to create regulations that may require owners or occupiers of industrial or trade premises, as well as individuals who handle, store, transport, or use hazardous substances, to obtain and maintain insurance policies under the EPMA.

Before NEA issues an export or import permit for hazardous or other waste, it must be satisfied that the applicant has appropriate insurance (reasonably insured against risks that might arise in relation to the hazardous or other waste concerned, and that the applicant will be able to discharge any liability that might arise in relation to the hazardous or other waste concerned if the permit were granted), per HWA.

Some policies may exclude or limit coverage for fines, penalties, or punitive damages. 

Financial institutions (“FIs”) that do not take possession or operational assets are unlikely to be liable for environmental damage or breaches of environmental law.

If FIs take possession or operational control, they may be criminally liable for discharges/emissions of pollutants into environmental media, or for causing or permitting such discharges/emissions. As occupiers of land, they may be presumed to have discharged/emitted pollutants or caused or permitted such discharges/emissions unless they prove to the contrary (eg, under the EPMA). They may also be tortiously liable in negligence or nuisance for environmental damage in the same way as operators or occupiers (see 5.1 Key Types of Liability).

Lenders usually require borrowers to provide contractual representations, warranties, and indemnities regarding compliance with environmental laws. Borrowers must confirm that they are unaware of any existing land contamination, enforcement notices, or ongoing litigation related to liability for environmental damage. Additionally, lenders expect borrowers to maintain adequate environmental insurance to cover any potential contractual liabilities that may arise.

Lenders also require borrowers to agree that any receiver appointed to take possession or control of the borrowers’ assets or business in order to recover owed money acts as an agent of the borrowers, not of the lenders.

Lenders may also require environmental due diligence on the borrowers’ business and assets.

Civil claims for compensation or other remedies that may be brought under tort include:

• private nuisance – when a person’s conduct unreasonably interferes with another person’s use or enjoyment of property rights over the latter’s land (eg, when a facility produces excessive noise, odour, pollution and prevents the neighbours from enjoying their land);
• public nuisance – when a person’s conduct causes common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or a large section of the public (eg, when a facility produces widespread excessive noise, smoke or pollution to the atmosphere);
• negligence – when a person owes another person a duty to the latter to conduct an activity carefully, and fails to conduct the activity in a way that meets the standard of care owed to the latter, and as a result, causes harm of a foreseeable type to the latter (eg, when the operator of a facility carelessly discharges or emits pollutants, causing harm to another person);
• rule in Rylands v Fletcher – when a person brings a hazardous substance or material onto land in the course of an unnatural use of the land, (eg, bringing a large amount of waste to a land used as a waste disposal facility, and the waste leaks out of the facility and causes harm to another person); and
• trespass to land – when a person intentionally discharges pollutants directly to another person’s land (in cases of trespass to land, interference with property rights is sufficient for liability, and it is not necessary to demonstrate that any harm or damage has occurred). 

Claims may also be brought in contract for breach of environmental obligations (eg, under a lease, supply contracts, or construction contract).

Civil claims for environmental damage can also be recovered under legislation (eg, for the recovery of the cost of clean-up or measures to prevent pollution, per EPMA, EPHA and PPSA).

Apart from claims for monetary compensation, other remedies may include an injunction to stop an ongoing polluting activity or prevent an imminent one. 

Damages awarded by a court are intended to be compensatory, and the award of exemplary/punitive damages, which seek to punish for egregious wrongdoing, is the exception, not the rule.

It could be possible, for example, to claim exemplary damages when a company knowingly discharges toxic waste onto a neighbour’s land into a neighbour’s (trespass to land) in anticipation that any compensatory damages would be lower than the cost of proper disposal of the waste. 

Representative actions for environmental-related civil claims are theoretically possible but rare in practice and may be used if known claimants share a common interest (eg, multiple known landowners affected by the same pollution source).

The court must be satisfied that the applicant is a proper person to conduct the proceedings and that the persons represented have the same interest as the applicant.

There have not been many civil cases related to environmental liability in Singapore, as environmental governance and regulation are mostly statutory and administrative, and enforced or administered by regulatory bodies.

In Animal Concerns Research & Education Society v Tan Boon Kwee [2011] SGCA 2, the claimant engaged a contractor to construct an animal shelter. The contractor subsequently employed the defendant, a director of the contractor, to supervise the construction. The site was to be constructed by levelling the soil on the site; however, under the defendant’s supervision, soil from another site was brought in instead, resulting in severe soil pollution on the site. The Court of Appeal found the defendant liable in negligence to the claimant for the pollution. 

Indemnities and other contractual agreements can be used to privately transfer or apportion liability for environmental damage or breaches of environmental law in Singapore. Such indemnities and agreements are commonly used in share purchase/asset purchase agreements, leases, and joint venture/construction agreements.

Any private agreement to transfer or apportion does not bind a regulator seeking to enforce a statutory obligation against a statutory obligee. Neither does it prevent a third party from seeking to enforce a civil liability against the indemnified party of an indemnity or transferring party in an agreement that transfers or apportions away liability.

There are currently no specific laws governing contaminated land in Singapore. However, NEA has the authority to create regulations aimed at controlling land pollution, subject to the approval of the Minister, in accordance with the EPMA.

Under the EPMA, permission from NEA is required before discharging or allowing the discharge of pollutants into any drain, including watercourses. NEA may also mandate individuals responsible for discharging pollutants into drains or onto land to remove or clean up the pollution.

In emergencies, NEA is allowed to take immediate action to address the issue and prevent injury or danger to public health, as well as to mitigate serious environmental pollution. After addressing the emergency, NEA can, under the EPMA, seek reimbursement from the responsible polluter or landowner for the cost of its measures.

Planning permission under the PA is also required for any building or engineering works on land or a material change of use of the land. Where contaminated land used for polluting activities is proposed to be put to a non-polluting use, such as a commercial or residential development, URA may require the landowner to remediate the land adequately before granting planning permission.

Administratively, under the Code of Practice on Pollution Control (2000 Edition (with amendments in February 2001, June 2002 and February 2004)), a non-statutory guidance published by the Ministry of the Environment (now MSE), when a site that is used for pollutive activities (as specified in the Code) is to be re-developed, re-zoned or re-used for a non-pollutive activity, a study must be conducted on the site to assess the extent of land contamination. If the study reveals that the site is contaminated, it must be cleaned up to standards acceptable for its intended use. A non-exhaustive list of standards and technical guidelines (comprising various Dutch, American, and New Zealand standards and guidelines) is set out in the Code for reference.

Where industrial land is leased from JTC, a statutory agency responsible for developing industrial infrastructure in Singapore, by a tenant for a short term tenancy (three years + three-year option) for pollutive activities (as specified by JTC), or by a lessee for a long term lease of 7 years or more, JTC requires the tenant/lessee to conduct an environmental site assessment at the commencement of the tenancy/lease, and at the time of exit from the site (eg, via termination or any transfer/assignment). Unless the tenancy/lease provides otherwise, the tenant or lessee (as the case may be) must restore the land to its pre-tenancy/lease commencement levels or to the prevailing Dutch Intervention Values (whichever is the less stringent). 

See 12.1 Key Laws Governing Contaminated Land.

In Singapore, responsibility for clearing up contaminated land may be placed on the polluter. The polluter’s responsibility may be delegated to another party by contract, but this does not bind NEA or affect NEA’s power to require the polluter to take measures to remove or clean up the contamination.

In an emergency, NEA may proceed with the clean-up and seek reimbursement from the polluter or landowner, per EPMA.

Where the landowner seeks planning permission to carry out building or engineering works or materially change the use of land, and it is determined that the land must be remediated, the landowner may be responsible for cleaning up the land to the satisfaction of URA before planning permission is granted under the PA (see 12.1 Key Laws Governing Contaminated Land). 

Where more than one party has contributed to land contamination through discharging or causing or permitting the discharge of pollutants into the ground, NEA may under the EPMA direct any one or more of these parties to remove and clean up the contamination.

Where more than one party has contributed to land contamination, tortious liability for the damage is joint and several amongst the contributors. 

In the case of JTC leases, tenants/lessees are required, under the terms of the tenancy/lease, to conduct environmental site assessments before transferring/assigning, or subletting their tenancy or lease. Each of the tenant/lessee, assignee, or sublessee’s contribution to the land contamination is documented and can prima facie be apportioned accordingly (see 12.1 Key Laws Governing Contaminated Land). 

The locus standi requirements for bringing proceedings by those affected by contamination against polluters/landowners/occupiers of land depend on the nature of the claim:

• for a claim in private nuisance, the claimant must have a proprietary interest in the land affected by the nuisance;
• for a claim in public nuisance, the claimant must not only be a member of the public or a large group of persons affected by the nuisance, but must also be an individual who has suffered a special and particular injury that goes beyond the harm done to the public;
• for a claim in negligence, the claimant must be owed a duty of care by the defendant based on:
1. a factual foreseeability of the damage or injury suffered as a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s “carelessness”;
2. a sufficient legal proximity between the defendant and the claimant (closeness or directness in the relationship, eg, physical proximity, close legal or social relationship, directness of the causal link between defendant’s actions and harm to claimant, or voluntary assumption of responsibility to claimant by defendant); and
3. the absence of any countervailing public policy considerations that should negate this duty;
• for a claim in trespass to land, the claimant must have an immediate possession of the affected land; and
• for a claim in contract, the defendant must be a party to the contract, and the claimant must also be a party to the contract or a third-party beneficiary of the contract intended by the parties to have rights of enforcement.   

Investigations into land contamination cases are likely to be led by NEA under the EPMA, and can be broken down into various stages.

Triggering Event

• Contamination may be discovered via pollution complaints from the public, reports by the occupier (eg, EPMA, FSA), or inspections (EPMA), etc.

Investigation

• NEA or SCDF officers may conduct a preliminary assessment based on visual inspection for signs of contamination, collect information on activities/operations on-site, and review site history/baseline studies.
• Soil, groundwater, and surface water samples may be taken for laboratory analysis to identify pollutants and concentration levels.
• Documents and records of inventory, storage, and waste disposal may be sought from the occupier/operator, and employees and contractors of the occupier/operator may be interviewed.
• Technical consultants may be engaged to conduct a contamination assessment and risk study. 

Determination of Responsibility

• An assessment of whether the occupier/operator or other party has committed any offences (eg, under EPMA or FSA).

Regulatory Directions and Enforcement Action

• Consider criminal prosecution if offences have been committed.
• Consider whether remediation orders and/or recovery of clean-up costs are required.
• If risk to human health or risk of serious environmental pollution is determined to exist, regulators may issue stop work orders, and/or conduct emergency works or order clean-up of contamination.
• Consider whether additional work or changes to the occupier/operator/contractor’s work processes are required and provide directions accordingly.

Post-Remediation Monitoring

• Ascertain remediation has been achieved (if voluntarily carried out or ordered).
• Continued periodic sampling may be ordered under the EPMA.     

The key policies and laws directly relating to climate change in Singapore include:

• Singapore Green Plan 2030 – see 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• EA – see 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• CPA – see 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• ECA – see 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• EPMA – see 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• BCA – see 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• RTA – see 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• SGX/ACRA Mandatory Climate-related Disclosures for Companies (see 6.5 ESG Requirements); and
• MAS Environmental Risk Management Guidelines for Financial Institutions (see 6.5 ESG Requirements). 

In Singapore’s submitted 2035 nationally determined contribution under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992 (“UNFCCC”), Singapore pledged to reduce GHG emissions to between 45 and 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2035.

In its updated Long-Term Low-Emissions Strategy submitted under the UNFCCC, Singapore announced its aim to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

Asbestos is considered HS, and thus its import, manufacture, and sale must be licensed. The import of asbestos has been banned. Its storage and use are also regulated, as per EPMA.

An employer of or principal giving directions to a person:

• carrying out at a workplace any work involving –
1. cable penetration insulation;
2. fire protection boards, panels, walls, and doors;
3. gaskets;
4. refractory lining;
5. sprayed insulation; and
6. thermal insulation of pipes, boilers, pressure vessels, and process vessels; or
• carrying out any building works involving a building erected before 1991,

must, in accordance with the WSHA, ensure an asbestos survey is conducted to ascertain the presence of asbestos.

Only asbestos-removal contractors approved by MOM can undertake asbestos removal work or repair work. Approved contractors must notify MOM at least seven days before starting any asbestos removal work.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (“PCBs”) are also HS, hence their import, manufacture, sale, and storage must be licensed. PCBs have been banned from import or use. The transportation of PCBs is regulated under the EPMA.

Licensed toxic industrial waste collectors must under the EPHA be engaged to collect waste containing asbestos or PCBs for disposal at the landfill.

Wastes containing asbestos and PCBs are also hazardous wastes, and a permit under the HWA is required for their export from Singapore, import to Singapore, and transit through Singapore.

The key laws and regulatory controls governing waste in Singapore include:

• EPHA – see section 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws;
• RSA – see section 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws; and
• HWA – see section 1.1 Environmental Protection Policies, Principles and Laws.

Generally, a producer or consignor of waste typically does not retain criminal liability for waste once a third party, such as a licensed waste collector at a licensed disposal facility, has lawfully disposed of it in accordance with the EPHA.

Where industrial waste has been improperly disposed of at an unauthorised place, the producer or consignor of the waste may be guilty of the following offences: 

• causing or permitting the disposal (eg, by incorrect or inadequate information to allow the licensed waste collector to deal with the waste correctly), per EPHA; and
• a producer or generator of waste who has caused or permitted the discharge of pollutants into a drain, land, or sewer by a third party may be guilty of an offence and be liable for clean-up measures and clean-up costs under the EPMA and SDA.

Even after a third party has properly disposed of toxic industrial waste (“TIW”), the producer of the TIW may also be guilty of an offence of:

• failing to prepare a consignment note for the consignor, the consignee, and NEA; or
• giving inaccurate or inadequate information to allow the licensed TIW collector to deal with the waste correctly under the EPHA.

The producer or consignor of waste may, in certain circumstances, continue to be liable in contract or tort to a claimant if a third party improperly disposes of the waste in breach of the producer/consignor’s contract with the claimant or in breach of the producer’s/consignor’s duty of care to the claimant.

Notwithstanding the export of hazardous or other waste to a third party outside Singapore and the subsequent disposal of the waste, the exporter may be guilty of an offence of:

• exporting the waste without an export permit under the HWA; or
• exporting the waste other than in accordance with the permit authorising the export.

If NEA determines that the waste poses a significant risk of injury or damage to human beings or the environment, which requires the waste to be dealt with in a particular way; or Singapore’s international obligations require the waste to be handled in a specific manner, NEA may (under the HWA) order the exporter to deal with the waste in a specified way at the exporter’s expense (including ordering the waste to be imported).

In Singapore, there are no specific requirements for producers to design products that can be easily disassembled and reassembled for end-of-life collection.

Producers of prescribed non-consumer electrical and electronic products are (under the RSA) obligated to take back and properly dispose of these products for recycling once they become waste.

Producers of prescribed consumer electrical and electronic products who exceed the specified sales threshold must participate in a producer responsibility scheme. This scheme requires them to take back, recover, and recycle the e-waste generated from these products, in accordance with the requirements of the RSA.

Additionally, producers of prescribed beverage products are expected from 2026 to be required to join a producer responsibility scheme, which mandates them to take back, recover, and recycle the empty containers of these products, as stipulated by the RSA.

Waste operators (waste collectors, waste disposal facility operators) in Singapore are accorded rights and obligations under the EPHA, including:

• waste collectors:
1. only licensed waste collectors can carry on the business of waste collecting;
2. industrial waste must be disposed of only at public or licensed waste disposal facilities;
3. only licensed TIW collectors may collect TIW;
4. dangerous substances or TIW must not be brought to a disposal facility without permission from the NEA;
• waste disposal facility operators:
1. a waste disposal facility must not be constructed, established, maintained, or operated without a waste disposal licence from the NEA in accordance with the EPHA; and
• transport of TIW:
1. approval from NEA is required for the consignment of TIW beyond its prescribed threshold;
2. the generator of TIW, beyond its prescribed threshold, must prepare a consignment note and provide copies of the note to the consignor, consignee, and NEA (see below).

Consignor

A consignor of TIW beyond its prescribed threshold for transport must first obtain NEA approval for the proposed consignment.

The consignor of TIW beyond its prescribed threshold must transmit the consignment note to the driver.

The consignor or owner of the consignment of TIW must provide to the carrier transport documents containing a statement regarding the safety requirements and action required to be taken by the carrier, and in the case of transportation of the TIW beyond its prescribed threshold, a copy of the approval by NEA of the consignment (under the EPHA).

Carrier

The carrier of the TIW must give the driver of the vehicle used to transport the waste a copy of the statement regarding the safety requirements and action required to be taken by the carrier in accordance with the EPHA.

Consignee

The consignee of TIW beyond its prescribed threshold must:

• obtain a copy of the consignment note from the driver;
• give acknowledgement of receipt of the TIW to NEA;
• inform NEA if the quantity and type of TIW received by him are different from those shown in the consignment note sent to him by the generator of the TIW (under the EPHA); 
• permission from NEA is required for the import of TIW (under the EPHA); and
• the export, import, and transit of hazardous or other wastes require a permit from NEA (in accordance with the HWA).

Mandatory environmental disclosures in Singapore include:

• climate-related financial disclosures to the public (see section 6.3 Incentives, Exemptions and Penalties); and
• energy usage.

Energy Efficiency Improvement Plans

The following entities must annually submit to NEA energy use reports and energy efficiency improvement plans:

• corporations in (i) manufacturing and manufacturing-related services; (ii) supply of electricity, gas, steam, compressed air and chilled water for air‑conditioning; and (iii) water supply and sewage and waste management, that consume 54 terajoules of energy derived from one or more types of specified fuel or energy commodities per calendar year;
• air service operators that consume 54 terajoules of energy derived from one or more types of specified fuel or energy commodities per calendar year; and
• land transport operators and port service operators declared by the Minister to be transport service operators.

Energy Use of Buildings

Persons having operational control of business facilities in the following sectors with annual GHG emissions of 2,000 tCO2e or more, must (under the CPA) annually report to NEA their GHG emissions:

• the consumption of electricity and other types of energy by users of the building; and
• the consumption of chilled water supplied to the cooling system of the building.

Water Usage

Persons supplied water by PUB that use more than 60,000 m3 of water per year (whether or not supplied by PUB) must annually submit to PUB water usage reports and a water efficiency plan in accordance with the PUA.

GHG Emissions

Persons having operational control of business facilities with annual GHG emissions of 2,000 tCO2e or more, must annually report to NEA their GHG emissions (under CPA) if they work in the following sectors:

• manufacturing and manufacturing-related services;
• supply of electricity, gas, steam, compressed air and chilled water for air‑conditioning; and
• water supply, and sewage and waste management.

Waste Generation

Owners, occupiers, or lessees of workplaces served with a notice by NEA (large hotels, shopping malls, factories, warehouses, convention/exhibition centres) must annually submit to NEA information on the amount, type and nature of any waste produced in that workplace and a waste reduction plan.

Plastic Packaging

Producers of packaged products with an annual turnover of at least SGD10 million who, in the course of carrying on a business, supply the products must:

• import the products together with specified packaging;
• use specified packaging to pack the product; and
• use specified packaging to make the product available to consumers, and

must annually submit to NEA, a report on specified packaging imported or used and a plan to reduce, re-use or recycle packaging in Singapore (whether or not the packaging is imported or used by the producer).

Food Waste Treatment

The building manager of a prescribed building (large shopping malls, hotels, food processing establishments, and catering establishments) must (under the RSA) submit to NEA annually a report on the amount of food waste:

• treated in the prescribed building; and
• treated at a licensed waste disposal facility or public disposal facility.

Liability for Non-disclosure or Incomplete Disclosure

It is typically an offence to make a statement in a report or plan knowing it to be false or misleading or to falsify data in such a report or plan.

It is also typically an offence to fail to submit the requisite reports or fail to rectify and re-submit a report considered incomplete or inaccurate as directed by the regulator.

Submitting a false or misleading sustainability report may also give rise to civil liability in contract (misrepresentation) or in tort (misrepresentation) if a statement of fact in the report is materially false or misleading and induces another person to enter into a contract with the statement-maker in reliance on the statement.   

Submitting a false or misleading sustainability report can be considered an offence and may result in a civil penalty under the Securities and Futures Act 2001 (SFA). This applies if a statement in the report is materially false or misleading; and if it leads others to subscribe for securities, buy or sell securities, or impacts the market price of securities and if the individual who made the statement did so without caring whether it was true or false, or if they knew the statement was false or misleading.

If a person contemporaneously with such contravention of the SFA by the statement maker, subscribed for, bought, or sold securities, and suffered loss by reason of the contravention, that person may seek compensation from the statement maker.

There is no freedom of information legislation or freedom of environmental information legislation in Singapore for obtaining environmental information from public authorities.

Companies may be required to disclose environmental information related to financial risks in their sustainability reports (see 6.5 ESG Requirements).

The directors of a company may be required to consider disclosing in the company’s annual report, environmental information that affects the ability of the company’s financial statements to give a true and fair view of the financial position of the company (see Companies Act 1967).

Green finance arrangements are voluntary, and some of them have been outlined below.

Green Loans and Green Bonds

These are use-of-proceeds financing instruments and are typically structured to be aligned with the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association (“LMA”), Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (“APLMA”), and the Loan Syndication and Trading Association (“LSTA”); and Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Markets Association (“ICMA”), respectively. 

Sustainability-Linked Loans and Bonds

These are financing instruments that involve favourable terms for achieving agreed-upon sustainability performance targets during the tenure of the financing. They are typically aligned with the Sustainability-linked Loan Principles of the LMA, APLMA, and LSTA, as well as the Sustainability-linked Bond Principles of the ICMA, respectively.

Incentives provided by MAS to promote the adoption of green finance are as follows.

Sustainable Bond Grant Scheme

Covers the costs of pre-issuance external reviews or ratings and post-issuance external review or reporting work performed by external reviewers in Singapore for qualifying green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked, and transition bonds issued and listed in Singapore aligned with any internationally recognised green, social, sustainability-linked principles or standards.

Sustainable Loan Grant Scheme

Defrays the expenses of engaging independent service providers to validate sustainability credentials of qualifying loans by offsetting up to SGD125,000 of expenses incurred for external reviews of eligible green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked, and transition loans, as well as promoting the adoption of internationally recognised standards and taxonomies. 

Taxonomy

The Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (2023 Edition) (“Taxonomy”) was published by the Green Finance Industry Taskforce (replaced with Singapore Sustainable Finance Association), a cross-industry body established by MAS to accelerate Singapore’s development as a leading centre for sustainable finance. It provides guidance on what are considered green, transitional, and ineligible activities.

To be considered green or in transition under the Taxonomy, activities must:

• contribute substantially to an environmental objective by meeting the relevant technical screening criteria (“TSC”) set out in the Taxonomy for the environmental objective. Currently, the only environmental objective with a relevant TSC is climate change mitigation; and
• not cause significant harm to other environmental objectives set out in the Taxonomy.

Issuers and borrowers must also perform due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate, and address the actual and potential adverse impacts related to human rights, workers, the environment, bribery, and consumers. This due diligence should cover their own operations, their supply chain, and other business relationships.

The use of the Taxonomy to guide green finance is currently not mandatory.

Environmental due diligence is typically performed in M&A transactions.

Environmental due diligence that a purchaser of shares/assets may want to conduct includes:

• whether all relevant environmental approvals/permits have been obtained and are valid and still current, and whether there is no breach of the conditions of approvals/permits;
• whether all discharges/emissions are within prescribed limits;
• whether all statutory reporting obligations have been met; and
• whether there is any pending environmental litigation, investigations, prosecutions, or appeals.

Risk of land contamination based on present and past usage, and if so, legal liability for remediation.

In Singapore, there is no statutory or general duty for a seller to disclose any environmental information to a purchaser.

In the context of a transaction in Singapore, the most common environmental legal issues include:

• ensuring the required approvals/permits have been secured and conditions are complied with;
• whether there are potential impediments to the transfer of approvals/permits to a purchaser or to the purchaser obtaining fresh approvals/permits; and
• apportionment of legal (statutory, tortious, contractual) liability for environmental pollution, particularly land contamination.