On 10 June 2021, former Prime Minister Morrison and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee agreed to explore a Green Economy Agreement (GEA) between the two countries. The GEA would facilitate trade and investment in environmental goods and services, strengthen environmental governance, and contribute efforts to build global capacity to address climate change.

The GEA has the potential to unlock exciting new opportunities for Australia’s clean energy export sector and to enhance investment and trade in environmental goods and services.  It can help build new capacities to address climate change, whilst supporting economic growth and job creation in green sectors.  The GEA will support our transition to a new energy economy and drive new investments, including in hydrogen. 

Australia and Singapore are like-minded countries that strongly support a rules-based system in promoting open markets and free trade, which continue to be critical at a time of increasing economic uncertainty. We envisage that the GEA will be practical, ambitious, and innovative, reduce barriers to trade and enable technologies to catalyse business and commercial opportunities.

During the 12th meeting of the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee  on 27 August 2021, Ministers agreed to establish a Joint GEA Working Group with a view to launching formal GEA negotiations by 1 October 2021. Negotiations between Australia and Singapore on the GEA commenced on 22 September 2021.

Australia’s former Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan and Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong met on 11 October 2021 to take stock of negotiations on the GEA. They released a Joint Vision Statement which outlines a shared ambition for the GEA.

The GEA was promoted at the Australian pavilion at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021, the video below provides further information.