The National Institute of Environmental Research (President Kim Dong-jin) under the Ministry of Environment announced that they will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU), including cooperation on sharing data from geostationary environmental satellites with the Singaporean National Environment Agency, on July 31 at the local site.

Through the signing of this MOU, both institutions have agreed to jointly address issues such as transboundary atmospheric pollution, climate change, environmental health, and disaster risk reduction. 

The Asian region is experiencing rapid increases in air pollution due to population growth and urbanization, and it accounts for more than half of the global death toll caused by air pollution. 

Singapore has adopted the "ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution" with the 10 member countries of ASEAN* to prevent haze pollution from neighboring countries that have been identified as one of the causes of air pollution. South Korea is also strengthening cooperation among Northeast Asian countries to address the issue of fine dust pollution caused by overseas influences. 

* Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprising Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia

In August 2021, Ambassador Eric Teo of Singapore expressed interest in South Korea's world's first geostationary environmental satellite, which was successfully launched in February 2020, as a preventive measure of the Ministry of Environment. This MOU was signed in January 2022, after a working meeting between Singapore Environmental Agency, the Embassy of Singapore in Korea, and the National Institute of Environmental Research.

Singapore plans to participate in the joint development of a platform for the shared use of environmental satellites through this MOU, and carry out activities such as verification and improvement of environmental satellite observation data in the equatorial region, as well as joint development of environmental satellite utilization technologies, for a period of three years. Furthermore, researchers from both countries plan to present their research findings at academic conferences and workshops hosted by each institution.

Kim Dong-jin, President of the National Institute of Environmental Research, stated, "We will actively support the wide utilization of geostationary environmental satellites in atmospheric monitoring and research in the Asian region."

Contact: Ahn Soi, Environmental Researcher

Environmental Satellite Center / +82-(0)32-560-8449