Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese received his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, to sign a new green energy agreement between the two countries.
Albanese said the pact reflects a “collective determination” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through an ambitious energy project.
He cited renewable energy start-up Sun Cable, which wants to build a high-voltage line capable of transferring huge volumes of solar energy from the deserts of northern Australia to tropical Singapore. Sun Cable said that if successful, it would be the first intercontinental power grid. Lee Hsien Loong assured that the pact on the green economy was the “first agreement of its kind”.
“We hope it will serve as a model for other countries that simply want to cooperate with each other to deal with a global problem,” he added. With this project and others to come, “Australia can be a renewable energy superpower for the world,” Albanese added to the press. Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and gas.
The country has been frequently criticized internationally for its failure to significantly reduce its carbon emissions. Coal still plays a key role in domestic electricity generation.
