Singapore plans tougher haze law, presses ASEAN action in 2027
What's next: proposed changes would let the NEA force firms to appoint assessors, while Singapore backs an Indonesia-based ASEAN haze center.
Singapore is moving to tighten its response to cross-border haze, with the government preparing amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act and pledging to push regional action when it chairs ASEAN in 2027. Senior Minister K. Shanmugam said companies allegedly linked to haze-related activity had agreed to cooperate after the government sent notices to 10 Singapore-registered firms. The proposed legal changes, to be tabled in Parliament by Sustainability Minister Grace Fu, would give the investigative framework legal force and allow the National Environment Agency to require companies to appoint assessors, with noncompliance treated as an offense. In Parliament, Fu also said Singapore will work to strengthen the ASEAN haze pact and support an Indonesia-based coordinating center once enough member states ratify it.