Singapore, Australia sign green deal

This covers seven areas of cooperation. 

Singapore and Australia have signed the Green Economy Agreement, which covers seven areas of cooperation. 

These include trade and investment, standards and conformance, green and transition finance, carbon markets, clean energy, decarbonisation and technology, skills and capabilities, and business engagements and partnerships. 

The agreement was signed by the Singapore Minister for trade and industry Gan Kim Yong, and his counterpart Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell on 18 October 2022. 

“The GEA will reduce barriers to cross-border trade in clean energy as well as green trade and investment. In doing so, we catalyse green growth opportunities and good jobs, while promoting decarbonisation and supporting our smooth transition into a green economy,” Gan said. 

“The GEA also underscores Singapore’s commitment to global climate action and the importance of international cooperation in addressing the challenges posed by climate change.”

Read more: SG, Australia ink agreement to deepen FinTech collaboration

Under the agreement, Singapore and Australia will also partner on 17 joint initiatives, such as addressing non-tariff barriers to trade to reduce cost, and developing a digital verification platform to reduce environmental cost of trade amongst others. 

“Both countries will continue to strengthen bilateral and international cooperation in the green economy by building on these initiatives and exploring further work under the GEA,” according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore.

Singapore is the tenth largest trade partner of Australia, whilst Australia is Singapore’s fifth largest trading partner.