Singapore and New Zealand will work with industry, academia and other stakeholders to drive the development of a sustainable aviation ecosystem.
Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) have entered a Memorandum of Arrangement (MOA) on sustainable aviation with the New Zealand Ministry of Transport and New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Under the MOA, Singapore and New Zealand will collaborate and share information on initiatives to advance sustainable aviation, covering four key areas, namely, policy and regulation; industry development; future infrastructure planning and provision; and workforce transformation. The collaboration will include coordinating the research and development, test bedding and trial of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), facilitating the development of secure sustainable fuels, including SAF and hydrogen, supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region and studying the scale, costs, technical and commercial viabilities of developing “green lanes” between New Zealand and Singapore to encourage the gradual uptake of SAF-operated flights by consumers.
The MOA is one of the first initiatives under the new Climate Change and Green Economy Pillar under the existing Singapore-New Zealand Enhanced Partnership. The Enhanced Partnership was established during Ardern’s official visit in 2019 and covers trade and economics; security and defence; science, technology and innovation; and people-to-people links.
Sustainability has been identified by the MOT and CAAS as a priority for the Singapore aviation sector as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic to rebuild and reclaim Singapore’s position as an international air hub with global connectivity. The CAAS is developing a Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint, which it will publish in early 2023, to set medium-term and longer-term sustainability goals and identify practical pathways to achieve them. In February 2022, CAAS set up an International Advisory Panel (IAP) to tap on the expertise of industry, technology, and knowledge leaders from Singapore and around the world. The IAP has to date held five meetings and will present its recommendations in July 2022.
Image: Karan Gurnani
