Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer, met on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa, agreeing to enhance bilateral cooperation on climate change and energy.

The new Australia–UK Climate and Energy Partnership will focus on the development and accelerated deployment of renewable energy technologies, such as green hydrogen and offshore wind.

The agreement comes as the UK is about to formally join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), giving the UK access to one of the world's largest and fastest growing free trade areas by GDP at $13.5tr.

The UK also signed, under the previous government, the AUKUS defence agreement with Australia and the US and discussions are ongoing for the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “We had a productive discussion, including agreeing to negotiate a new climate and energy partnership. This partnership will ensure we maximise the economic potential of the net-zero transition, and build on our long-standing cooperation on international climate action and shared commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.”

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