Singapore and Australia sign MOU on green and digital shipping corridor and develop principles to guide development of cross-border electricity trade

27 March 2024

On 5 March 2024, Singapore and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to formally collaborate on establishing the Singapore-Australia green and digital shipping corridor (“GDSC”) which will help decarbonise and digitalise shipping routes between the two countries.

The two countries have also jointly developed “Ten Principles to Guide the Development of Cross-Border Electricity Trade” to deepen energy connectivity and support cross-border electricity trading.

Singapore-Australia green and digital shipping corridor

The GDSC seeks to enable the piloting of solutions to enhance the resilience, efficiency, and sustainability of global supply chains and logistics through Singapore and Australia. Areas to be actioned under the GDSC include exploring opportunities for a joint supply chain and logistics of zero or near-zero greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emission fuel, developing training programmes to safely handle zero or near-zero GHG emission fuels, supporting bunkering requirements, and standards for vessels servicing the maritime route between Singapore and Australia and conducting test pilots and demonstration projects for bunkering zero or near-zero GHG emission fuels.

The MOU will also explore facilitating digital information exchange to enable efficient port clearance, port calls, and flow of vessels between Singapore and Australia, and facilitate collaboration between the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (“MPA”), Australian federal, state, and territory governments, as well as industry stakeholders.

Ten principles to guide the development of cross-border electricity trade

Jointly developed by the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (“MTI”) and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (“DFAT”), the 10 principles intended to guide the development of cross-border electricity trade are as follows:

  • Deliver economic outcomes that offer tangible benefits across the two countries, where possible, and help facilitate wider participation in cross-border electricity trade with other countries in the region.
  • Build diverse and resilient clean energy supply chains that are critical to bilateral energy and economic security and which could be expanded to the wider region.
  • Enhance energy security by developing frameworks to safeguard cross-border electricity infrastructure.
  • Promote environmental objectives for the achievement of each country’s respective net-zero targets and international climate change obligations.
  • Uphold each country’s respective commitments under bilateral and multilateral agreements to which both Singapore and Australia are party.
  • Develop and harmonise policies, and regulatory and legal frameworks.
  • Facilitate the compatibility of technical standards and inter-operability of systems that underpin the development, operations, and maintenance of cross-border electricity trade and the infrastructure that supports this trade.
  • Establish suitable governance arrangements to provide appropriate oversight, transparency, and accountability in cross-border electricity trade.
  • Foster mutual understanding and recognition of each country’s respective priorities by sharing knowledge and expertise relevant to the development of cross-border electricity trade.
  • Create new partnerships that further enhance cross-border electricity trade, including with regional partners.

Reference materials

The following materials are available on the MPA website www.mpa.gov.sg, MTI website www.mti.gov.sg and DFAT www.dfat.gov.au: