Singapore to Amend Haze Law to Close Enforcement Gaps, Minister Says

Singapore will review and tighten its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act and consider new legislation to address gaps in enforcement, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said on Tuesday. The minister emphasized that the haze is "preventable and unacceptable" and that companies must be held accountable for the environmental impact of their operations and supply chains.

"The objective is to address enforcement gaps, strengthen corporate accountability, and enhance our ability to investigate and take decisive action against those responsible for transboundary haze," Fu said at the Sustainable Procurement Forum organized by the Singapore Environment Council.

Fu added that Singapore is prepared to use a broader range of legal, regulatory and economic tools, including scrutiny of investors, financiers and markets, when parties linked to haze have interests in the city-state.

The government has already taken steps, such as issuing a temporary restriction notice to Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper over its Singapore Green Labelling Scheme certification and sending Section 10 notices under the haze law to ten Singapore-based firms in the palm-oil and forestry sectors, as well as to ten Indonesian firms.

The minister highlighted two practical challenges in cross-border enforcement: gathering evidence overseas and securing cooperation from companies outside Singapore. While Section 10 notices help obtain information, serving and enforcing them can be difficult if companies refuse to comply or have no officers in Singapore.

"Cooperation is therefore important. But our enforcement framework should not allow a company to frustrate an investigation simply by refusing to cooperate or remaining outside Singapore," Fu said.

She reaffirmed Singapore's openness to work with Indonesian authorities on shared accountability goals and noted that verifying documents provided by overseas firms remains a challenge due to jurisdictional limits.