President Moon holds summit with Australian Prime Minister... Signs 'Carbon Neutral Technology Partnership'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in held a summit meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the occasion of attending the Group of Twenty (G20) summit, discussing bilateral cooperation, responses to COVID-19 and climate change, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, on the occasion of the summit, they jointly announced the "Korea-Australia Carbon Neutral Technology Partnership" declaration, which will serve as a joint platform for carbon neutrality over the next decade.

This marks four months since the last summit held during the Group of Seven (G7) summit in June.

The two leaders agreed that their countries have developed a mutually beneficial trade relationship based on complementary trade structures, and through the signing of the "Korea-Australia Carbon Neutral Technology Partnership," they decided to expand the horizon of cooperation between the two countries in future-oriented advanced industries such as low-carbon technologies.

This partnership was proposed by Prime Minister Morrison to President Moon in April, initiating discussions that accelerated through the June summit and subsequent follow-up correspondence.

The Korea-Australia Carbon Neutral Technology Partnership is expected to serve as a joint platform for the commercialization of carbon-neutral technologies and cost reduction efforts by both governments for more than ten years. Based on this partnership, the two governments will cooperate to commercialize carbon-neutral technologies and reduce costs by discovering and jointly supporting projects related to hydrogen, steel, energy storage, carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies, solar power, and critical minerals.

In particular, Australia, rich in renewable energy sources and an LNG-producing country, holds advantages in hydrogen production and extraction, while Korea is expected to see increasing hydrogen demand in the future, suggesting significant synergy in the hydrogen ecosystem between the two countries. In this regard, the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources and the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will pursue follow-up measures for the partnership.

The Blue House explained, "It is significant that, reflecting domestic industry opinions, the partnership includes cooperation in energy storage devices and critical minerals such as rare metals."

Furthermore, during the summit, President Moon and Prime Minister Morrison shared the recognition that inter-country cooperation is essential in addressing global issues including the response to COVID-19, and as traditional allies and regional partners with similar positions, they agreed to strengthen communication on regional situations and international issues.

Meanwhile, President Moon recently explained the situation on the Korean Peninsula and South Korea’s policy toward North Korea to Prime Minister Morrison, requesting Australia’s continued support for the complete denuclearization and peace-building on the Korean Peninsula.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.