Singapore and Denmark have agreed to enter into a joint-partnership to test 'smart city innovations' in a bid to combat climate change by building inclusive 'smart cities'. Both countries will seek to benefit from each other's respective experience and skills in order to formulate a coherent plan to battle climate change.
Singapore and Denmark are very similar when you compare each other's resources - both are prosperous countries that have small populations and innovative economies. However, they're both coastal and are gravely concerned by rising water levels which are a consequence of climate change. Singapore and Denmark have enjoyed excellent bilateral trade relations for the best part of fifty years, and will now engage in a new green innovation initiative.
The new partnership between Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Danish consortium Smart City World Labs which was formally announced last week - disclosed that the new collaboration between both countries will see Singapore become a test bed for various green innovations, ranging from water and energy-saving technologies to green building systems and electric vehicles.
A spokesman for Smart City World Labs declared that it is there responsibility and role to provide sustainable SME's based in Singapore with access to Danish markets, and global markets, that are ready to pay for green innovations whilst in the test phase in a setting which has been termed 'living labs'.
NTU Singapore will be spearheaded by its Energy Research Institute and will work in tandem with SMEs in an effort to develop green technologies using NTU's campus as a laboratory. The campus is already a living lab for several environment-friendly research projects including the 5-megawatt rooftop solar farms installed on buildings in the campus.
The Ambassador of Denmark to Singapore, Dorte Bech Vizard said both nations were key drivers in green transition through 'smart tenders' which she claimed represented a new type of public-private collaboration. She said: "Denmark and Singapore - both small countries - are important drivers of the green transition through smart tenders and new ways of doing public-private collaboration. Connecting Danish and Singaporean living labs will make it easier for our small and medium-sized companies to test and adapt their innovative products in a real life scenario, and to showcase their benefits to a broad range of stakeholders in our markets."
Based in Denmark, the Smart City World Labs Consortium comprises of the Royal Danish Embassy in Singapore, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the City of Copenhagen, Gate 21 and Quercus Group, a consultancy firm that specializes in sustainable development.