Indo-Pacific partners ink clean economy deal with new programme on nuclear energy

The 14 participating countries of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) inked the clean economy agreement, which contains three new work programmes, including one on small modular reactors (SMRs).

SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors that have a smaller power capacity than the traditional ones.

The work programme on SMRs intends to support partners who are looking to know more about SMRs, and potentially introduce them in their countries under the highest standards of safety, security, and safeguards if they are found to be a suitable clean energy source, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a media release on Thursday (6 Jun).

For IPEF members looking to introduce SMRs in their countries, this work programme will also serve as a platform for dialogue where these countries would be assisted in developing SMR supply chains, and the necessary infrastructure and workforce needed to deploy them safely.

The other two work programmes relate to emissions intensity accounting, which will have IPEF partners share information on existing standards, reporting systems, and methodologies, as well as e-waste urban mining, where members collaborate to bring about a more sustainable e-waste management system.

These work programmes are a mechanism under the clean economy agreement for groups interested in a range of climate solutions to build and sustain long-term cooperation, with the aim of advancing the goals of the agreement.

The total number of work programmes under the clean economy agreement now stands at eight. The other five involve hydrogen, carbon markets, clean electricity, the just transition and sustainable aviation fuels.

The signing of the clean economy agreement on Thursday was one of several outcomes at a meeting between IPEF ministers which was held in Singapore. IPEF is an economic alliance initiated by the United States in 2022, and now has 13 other participating countries including Singapore.

The rest of the participants are Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Including Singapore and the United States, these 14 countries represent 40 per cent of global gross domestic product and 28 per cent of global goods and services trade.

Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, the meeting in Singapore was the second to be held among IPEF ministers, and the first held in person outside the United States. The first meeting was held in San Francisco in November 2023, when negotiations on the clean economy agreement, among several others, were mostly concluded.

The clean economy is one of the four pillars of IPEF, the other three being trade, supply chains, and fair economy.

Besides the inking of the clean economy agreement, the 14 partners also signed the fair economy agreement – which aims to combat corruption and improve tax administration – as well as the overarching IPEF agreement, paving the way for the ratification, acceptance, or approval of these accords.

Gan, who is also trade and industry minister, said that the signing of these two agreements would “advance regional cooperation in the deployment of clean energy technology, mobilise financing for sustainable infrastructure and climate technology, and help establish a more conducive business environment in the region”.

“These will create more opportunities for Singapore businesses,” he added.

MTI noted that there was progress in the number of partners becoming parties to the supply chain agreement, which was signed last November and ratified in February this year.

The remaining agreement on trade has yet to be finalised, but Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who was also speaking at the event, said that he looked forward to its conclusion.

“Trade is understandably a difficult issue with sensitive areas across many countries. But trade is the lifeblood of countries in this region, and we look forward to reaching a substantive agreement that will enhance trade flows among all IPEF countries, and (improve) the lives of our people,” he said.
 

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