November 7, 2022.- Within the framework of the Presidential Declaration signed in 2019 in line with the strategic vision of the Pacific Alliance (PA), in 2020 a Roadmap for the Sustainable Management of Plastics was developed, which identifies eight areas of action focused on regulation, good practices and public policies; innovation, research and business transformation; plastic waste management and recycling; circular economy; financing; education, information and citizen transformation; trade; and international cooperation.
At the initiative of the Mexico pro tempore presidency of the PA, the Technical Group for the Environment and Green Growth (GTMACV) organized a virtual workshop for dialogue and exchange of experiences with experts from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment on the subject of roadmaps on sustainable management of plastics and regulations on this matter.
This activity is the second conversation that the Technical Group has held with an Observer State of the integration mechanism, within the framework of the aforementioned roadmap, after the one held with Switzerland on October 29, 2020, during the then presidency pro tempore of Chile.
In their opening remarks, Annika Lindblom, Director of International and European Union Affairs at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, and Constance Nalegach, Head of the Office of International Affairs at the Chilean Ministry of the Environment and Coordinator of the GTMACV, highlighted the global problem of plastic pollution and the need to achieve joint solutions in this matter, including through existing international mechanisms and new initiatives to deal with this challenge.
The workshop included presentations on Finland’s “Plastic Roadmap” and the PA’s Sustainable Plastics Management Roadmap, including the development of these instruments, definition of goals and regulatory progress by both parties, in addition to international cooperation in different instances, among other matters. After the presentations, there was a space for consultations and the potential for existing cooperation between Finland and the Pacific Alliance in this matter.