New Zealand, Singapore sign collaborative agreement on sustainable aviation

A New Zealand-Singapore Sustainable Aviation Arrangement signed April 20 marks the start of greater collaboration as both countries move toward low-carbon economies, said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

The arrangement is the first bilateral cooperation in sustainable aviation for both New Zealand and Singapore, and its signing was witnessed by Ardern and Singapore’s Minister of Transport S. Iswaran.

Ardern is in Singapore with a business delegation on her first overseas travel undertaken since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, to show that New Zealand is once again open for business. She will also visit Japan.

“This arrangement is part of the newly added ‘green pillar’ of the Singapore-New Zealand Enhanced Partnership that was signed in 2019,” Ardern said. “It clearly indicates our commitment towards jointly tackling climate change. We cannot afford to return to business as usual, because that is unsustainable. We need to work with trusted partners like Singapore to ensure that environmental sustainability is a core part of our economic strategy.”

The arrangement outlines four broad areas for cooperation:

• Policy and regulation—Including information exchange on policy positions and regulations that supports sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) uptake and the electrification of fleets and airport infrastructure

• Industry development—Including the coordination of the R&D, testing and trailing of SAF to guide the development of the sustainable aviation ecosystem

• Future infrastructure planning and provisions—Including information sharing on approaches to decarbonize airport infrastructure and optimize aircrafts and air-traffic routes, and a study on the commercial viabilities of developing “green lanes” between New Zealand and Singapore to encourage the consumer uptake of SAF-run flights

• Workforce transformation—Including the creation of new jobs in sustainable aviation, and information exchange on redesigning work processes and supporting professional growth in the aviation sector

Air New Zealand, Auckland Airport, Christchurch Airport and the Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand all committed, following the signing, to support the arrangement.

“The commitments made today are a concrete demonstration of the government and private sector joining together to build a more sustainable future,” Ardern said.

The Sustainable Aviation Arrangement also builds on the Hydrogen Arrangement, signed in 2021, which lays the foundation for information exchange on the use and deployment of low-carbon hydrogen across energy and transport sectors. This includes exchanges on low-carbon shipping policy, and on encouraging the rapid uptake of zero- and low-emissions vehicles.