Singapore, Chile & New Zealand Launch Talks for Green Economy Partnership

The governments of Singapore, Chile and New Zealand have initiated negotiations for a plurilateral Green Economy Partnership Agreement (GEPA), launched on 31 October 2025 on the sidelines of the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The agreement aims to provide a framework for trade and investment in the green economy, where sustainability and market access align.

The proposed GEPA would cover areas such as sustainable aviation fuel, trading of carbon credits, renewable energy certificates and trade-related climate measures. Officials note that the purpose is to set common rules and standards to streamline cross-border flows of environmental goods, services, technologies and finance-to support the transition to a low-carbon economy while avoiding unnecessary trade barriers.

This initiative builds on the Joint Working Group on Trade and the Green Economy, formed in November 2024, by the same three countries to explore cooperation in green sectors. With the GEPA talks now underway, the countries aim to deliver a proposal or work-plan for consideration in 2025.

Plurilateral trade agreements focused specifically on the green economy - like the proposed GEPA - represent a relatively new architecture in international commerce. Traditional trade agreements address environmental provisions as ancillary chapters; a purpose-built green-economy agreement makes sustainability the organising principle across sustainable-aviation-fuel, carbon-credit trading, renewable-energy certificates and related trade-relevant climate measures.

The three-country combination is strategically interesting. Singapore anchors global logistics and finance flows; Chile brings mineral resources and lithium; New Zealand contributes agricultural and forestry expertise. Together they create a template that other markets - potentially Australia, Japan, Canada or European partners - could join, building a coalition of green-economy trade partners around common standards.

For exporters and importers of environmental goods and services, corporate carbon-credit purchasers, and renewable-energy technology providers, Cognitud's market intelligence, climate action and supply chain and operations teams help clients evaluate exposure to emerging plurilateral frameworks, structure cross-border sustainable-trade arrangements, and align internal ESG reporting with the disclosure expectations that increasingly follow green-economy trade preferences.