Singapore’s Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps of the United Kingdom (UK) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the UK-Singapore Green Economy Framework (UKSGEF).
The UKSGEF will promote bilateral cooperation in the green economy to stimulate economic growth, generate jobs in green industries, and encourage the decarbonisation of economic activity. The UKSGEF will initially cover three pillars:
- Green Transport;
- Low-Carbon energy and technology;
- Markets for carbon and sustainable finance.
Under each pillar, the UK and Singapore have identified potential areas of cooperation, such as the decarbonisation of maritime and air transport. The framework will also support collaborations between the governments of both countries, academic institutions, and the business community through joint activities such as enterprise matching and co-innovation projects, as well as the development of green capabilities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
According to Minister Iswaran, the Green Economy Framework builds on the strong and dynamic bilateral economic partnership established by the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (UKSFTA) and the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (UKSDEA).
Both parties will work through this project on areas such as innovative decarbonisation policies, low-carbon energy and technologies, and high-integrity carbon markets. Through collaboration with people, academia, and enterprises, they hope to catalyse green growth potential while also encouraging decarbonisation. The UK is Singapore’s sixth-largest trading partner globally and Singapore’s largest European investor and Europe’s second-largest investment destination.
As part of the efforts to decarbonise industries and businesses, MTI and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) will provide additional assistance to firms and workers. This includes efforts to assist firms in strengthening their sustainability skills and seizing green growth prospects, as well as actions to equip employees for good jobs in the green economy.
The shift to net zero emissions will be one of the economy’s most profound and far-reaching revolutions; investors and consumers are increasingly demanding that enterprises in practically every field be environmentally responsible as global climate action takes traction.
As Multi-National Companies (MNCs) and larger corporations seek to decarbonise their supply chains, SMEs will need to strengthen their sustainability capabilities to remain competitive and relevant. EnterpriseSG will expand the Enterprise Sustainability Programme (ESP), which was established in 2021, with new initiatives to provide simple access to tools and resources for local businesses on their sustainable journey.
Digital solutions, courses, and partner programmes are among those available to assist SMEs with carbon management. In addition to the carbon management support package for SMEs, the EnterpriseSG will collaborate with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to identify basic carbon accounting solutions, which will be supported by the PSG, as well as to curate more advanced carbon management solutions, which will be supported by IMDA’s Advanced Digital Solutions (ADS).
The collaboration is part of an ongoing effort to accelerate the adoption of digital sustainability solutions and technology development to assist Singapore firms in achieving long-term commercial growth.
With the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) and capability-building programmes with partners, the ESP now assists Singapore firms in embarking on carbon management projects. Based on these efforts, EnterpriseSG will launch a support package that includes:
- Novel decarbonisation courses;
- A decarbonisation playbook produced in collaboration with the National Environment Agency and the Global Compact Network Singapore; and
- Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) funding support for the implementation of pre-scoped carbon accounting solutions.
