PM of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong will visit Australia today – Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong will arrive in Australia today for annual three-day bilateral talks.

Lee will meet with Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese; both leaders are expected to sign a new ‘green economy’ agreement. The deal aims to remove non-tariff barriers for environmental products and services, facilitating future renewable energy and hydrogen deals between Singaporean and Australian companies.

For Australia, the export of renewable energy and technology to the Indo-Pacific is a key component of Albanese’s climate change policies. In 2021, the vast region accounted for 80% of all global investment in clean energy. Canberra’s strategy is most ably demonstrated by the $30 billion Sun Cable project which aims to transmit solar energy from solar farms in Australia’s Northern Territory to Singapore via a 4,200km undersea cable—eventually supplying 15% of Singapore’s energy needs and weaning the island-state off a 95% reliance on natural gas for its electricity consumption.

However, uncertainty clouds the Sun Cable project as Singaporean experts cite the costs of the project as prohibitive; preferring cheaper clean energy import options in Thailand and Indonesia. This kind of uncertainty over big projects will likely limit the impact of the green economy deal in the medium-term future.