March 13th, 2023.- The Technical Subgroup on Measurement, Reporting,  and Verification (SGT-MRV) of the Pacific Alliance, with the sponsorship of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the technical support of Gold Standard, held on March 7th, the second in a series of four virtual technical workshops aimed at increasing knowledge and practical experience on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The meeting, in which more than 40 experts participated, delved into the economic instruments available under Article 6 for cooperation between countries in the global reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The first workshop focused on ‘authorization’, a practice that allows for one of the Parties involved to generate a statement that the mitigation results obtained can be used for the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of a different Party, and/or can be used for international mitigation purposes beyond the use for an NDC. The second workshop, on the other hand, addressed ‘corresponding adjustments’, or the practice whereby a Party applies an accounting adjustment for each Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO).

Although the attendees to the workshops are nominated by each country, the SGT-MRV will publish the material of each of the workshops on the official website of the Pacific Alliance. All the material related to the first workshop -technical documents, presentation, and summary- is already available on the web page, which can be accessed through the following link: https://alianzapacifico.net/grupotecnico-medio-ambiente/ (choose tab SUBGROUP MEASUREMENT, REPORTING AND VERIFICATION).

The next workshop will address the topic of ‘records and their interoperability’, and will be held virtually on April 4th.

Thus, the SGT-MRV continues to develop the objectives defined in its coordination framework, aligned with its goal to consolidate and harmonize the technical capacities of the Pacific Alliance countries and to advance towards harmonized standards and protocols for monitoring, policy reporting, and mitigation, adaptation, and climate actions among these countries.

February 9, 2023.- Within the framework of cooperation relations between the Pacific Alliance and Japan, nineteen young diplomats and government officials from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru visited Japan as part of the Together Program.

As part of this activity, the PA representatives visited the Japanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Shunsuke Takei, who welcomed their participation and affirmed that the Pacific Alliance is an important ally, as well as a partner to work and grow together with within the framework of relations of cooperation and friendship.

Minister Takei also pointed out that this edition of the Together Program provides his country with the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience in disaster prevention and mitigation issues, as well as initiatives that use ICTs.

For their part, representatives of the delegations expressed their gratitude for this invitation and highlighted the relevant points on what was learned through the program.

It was also highlighted that this kind of activity allows to strengthen further the relationship between Japan and the Pacific Alliance, as well as the possibility of future cooperation with this integration mechanism.

Japan joined the Pacific Alliance as an Observer State in January 2013.

As part of the IBTM Americas, one of the most important meetings and incentive tourism fairs that took place in Mexico City, the tourism promotion entities of the Technical Group Promotion Agencies (Meet in Chile – National Service of Tourism, ProColombia, the Ministry of Tourism of Mexico and Promperu) participated in the Second Latin American Meeting of DMCs.

At the meeting, the technical group promoted the advantages of the Pacific Alliance in the meetings industry and showed the joint work it carries out to promote destinations and companies from member countries. Likewise, the infrastructures and services available to each of the PA countries were announced.

The union of forces beyond territorial borders is the basis for the construction of new tourism and the reactivation of the economy.

As ties strengthen within the Pacific Alliance, there is parallel work to turn the bloc into a world power for business and opportunity. The joint work of the four countries is also demonstrated by the presence of the Pacific Alliance in international promotion fairs, such as the IBTM Americas at the Citibanamex Center, Mexico City.

The offer for the Congresses and Conventions segment of the countries that make up the Pacific Alliance is diverse, the connections are multiple and the opportunities to do business are endless.

The Pacific Alliance is ranked #6 in the World Ranking of the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), 7 cities of countries of the block are within the top 20 at the level of the Americas. The AP contributes 41% of the congresses held in Latin American countries.

• By the end of 2022, there will be a joint communication strategy for the responsible consumption of plastics, a series of indicators to measure the management across the plastics value chain at the regional level, and a characterization report of the plastics trade.

October 6th, 2022.- In the framework of the Presidential Declaration signed in 2019 in line with the strategic vision of the Pacific Alliance, a Roadmap for the Sustainable Management of Plastics was developed, identifying 8 areas of action focused in 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.

Thanks to a partnership between the IDB and Fundación Avina in 2021, a Coordination Committee was formed for the implementation of part of the roadmap with a timeline of 24 months beginning in the second half of 2022 focused on communications, generation of information systems and regulatory improvement. This Committee includes the representatives of the 4 countries of the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) through the Technical Group for the Environment and Green Growth (GTMACV) of this bloc, and representatives of Avina, with the support from the IDB’s Water and Sanitation Department.

The GTMACV’s commitment makes possible to review and provide feedback constantly on ongoing consultancies to ensure an adequate communication strategy that raises awareness and generates calls to action for change in the Pacific Alliance’s citizens’ consumption practices; as well as the generation of a standardized plastics information system that allows an adequate collection and consultation of data for the application of better public policies in the field of circular economy and plastics. On the same time, efforts are applied to improve regulatory cooperation in order to promote international trade, investment, economic growth, and employment.