South Korea, Singapore, and New Zealand are accelerating efforts to establish norms for joint responses to climate-related trade measures, including the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a high-level video conference on November 5 to assess significant progress in negotiations for a multilateral Green Economy Agreement (GEPA) with Singapore and New Zealand, and issued a joint statement. Participants included Kim Jang-hee, the Ministry's Director of New Trade Strategy, and officials from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The GEPA is a new type of trade agreement that links climate change responses with the promotion of trade and investment. It aims to reduce the burdens on businesses stemming from differing environmental regulations and certification systems across countries while facilitating trade in eco-friendly products and services.
In their joint statement, the three countries noted that they are advancing negotiations toward establishing the world's first agreement module containing design principles for trade-related climate measures (TrCMs). They are particularly focused on developing common principles for the design and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems of climate-related trade measures to enhance predictability for businesses and minimize unfair impacts on trade.
The EU has implemented the CBAM since January, which mandates carbon emissions reporting and certification obligations for imports of targeted items such as steel and aluminum. This has heightened the importance of carbon emissions calculations for domestic exporters.
The three countries are also working to expand cooperation in trading environmental goods and low-emission products. They plan to identify the scope of low-emission products produced in industries where carbon reduction is challenging, such as low-carbon steel, and enhance mutual understanding of related standards, definitions, and certification processes. This initiative aims to support the entry of eco-friendly products into overseas markets and promote decarbonization across industries.
Additionally, discussions will include activating the trading of environmental attributes that reflect values such as carbon emissions reduction and renewable energy use. They plan to collaborate with the industrial sector to create a reliable trading market and encourage related investments.
Other areas of cooperation include strengthening the consistency of sustainability reporting systems, expanding the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), collaborating on eco-friendly building materials and construction technologies, and enhancing the sustainability of food systems.
The GEPA negotiations began in October of last year when Singapore, New Zealand, and Chile announced their launch. South Korea officially joined the negotiations in September of this year and actively participated in discussions during the second official negotiations held in Seoul from September 30 to October 2. The recent high-level meeting reviewed the progress made in negotiations and discussed future cooperation directions. Participating countries plan to continue identifying practical cooperation tasks at the next round of negotiations scheduled for early 2027.
Kim Jang-hee stated, "We must proactively establish new trade norms in the green sector to leverage climate change responses as a new opportunity, leading to our industry's decarbonization transition and market leadership. We will work closely with GEPA participating countries to achieve sustainability goals while generating tangible results for our economy through negotiation progress."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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