Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

1. The Senior Officials of the Green Economy Partnership Agreement (GEPA) partners – New Zealand, Republic of Korea and Singapore – met in the lead up to the APEC Economic Leaders Week (AELW), on 5 November 2026 to mark the significant progress of negotiations and discuss the key emerging features of the initiative.

2. Green transition considerations are increasingly shaping the way economies produce and trade. Businesses are navigating new sustainability requirements across different markets and increasing numbers of trade related climate measures. At the same time, new opportunities are emerging in environmental attribute certificates, environmental goods, and low-emission products. These developments are closely interconnected and shape green trade value chains and investment flows.

3. Designed as an open and living green trade instrument, GEPA provides an opportunity for partners to help shape emerging rules and practices, reduce regulatory fragmentation and promote greater interoperability as the global green economy develops. This will provide businesses with greater policy certainty to seize new opportunities in the global green economy, while enhancing the GEPA partners’ ability to work together to pursue environmental sustainability goals.

 

Significant Progress of GEPA Negotiations

4. Following the launch of GEPA negotiations in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea on 31 October 2025, the GEPA partners have worked constructively and intensively through in-person negotiating rounds and virtual intersessional meetings. These ongoing discussions are yielding significant progress, including the development of innovative approaches to emerging issues at the nexus of trade and environmental sustainability. These include:

(i) Trade-related climate measures (TrCMs). Developing the world’s first TrCMs module with principles to guide the design of TrCMs and where relevant, their monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, giving businesses greater certainty to navigate emerging TrCMs across markets and enabling GEPA partners to work collaboratively to address any undue trade impacts arising from such measures and ensure environmental sustainability goals are met;

(ii) Trade in Environmental and Low-Emissions Goods. Enhancing trade in environmental and low emissions goods, including by identifying environmental goods and low emissions goods in hard-to-abate sectors for example low-carbon steel, advancing shared recognition of relevant standards, definitions and certification processes, and exploring appropriate approaches to incentivise their wider adoption and accelerate decarbonisation;

(iii) Trade in Environmental Attributes. Exploring new opportunities for trading of environmental attributes and, where appropriate, developing these markets in partnership with industry to support credible supply and demand for high-integrity attributes, and thereby encourage investment to achieve positive environmental outcomes;

(iv) Sustainability Reporting. Helping businesses operate across markets by promoting greater coherence in the international sustainability reporting landscape;

(v) Aviation. Supporting the decarbonisation and energy resilience of the aviation sector, including through efforts to improve the acceptability, affordability and accessibility of sustainable aviation fuels; 

(vi) Buildings and Construction. Advancing sustainable building and construction through enhanced cooperation on materials and technologies, construction methods including prefabrication and off-site construction, building performance, knowledge transfer, and construction standards; and

(vii) Food Systems. Strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation on scientific, technological, emissions measurement, regulatory, and policy approaches to support the sustainability, productivity and resilience of food systems.

5. Beyond establishing rules and frameworks, GEPA will also provide a mechanism for GEPA partners to pursue practical cooperation, whether collectively or among interested partners, to translate shared priorities into tangible outcomes. GEPA partners will build on progress made by continuing negotiations and exploring opportunities for practical cooperation at the next negotiating round in early 2027.