APEC To Advance Sustainability, Innovation And Inclusion

Issued by the APEC Ministerial Meeting

Wellington, New Zealand, 9 November 2021

APEC Ministers are considering ways to support the economic contributions of women, Indigenous Peoples, vulnerable communities and youth as one of the main drivers to boost economic recovery in the Asia-Pacific.

In its second day, the 2021 APEC Ministerial Meeting, co-chaired by New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta and Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor, will seek to address the challenges of collective investment in inclusion, sustainability, innovation and digitalization.

The decisions trade and foreign affairs ministers make will inform the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Friday.

“Our discussions continue as we progress our agenda to ensure a safe and prosperous trade platform that will sustain our peoples and environment for future generations,” said Minister Mahuta as she opened the meeting on Tuesday.

“While we had a robust discussion about how APEC can use trade as a tool to accelerate our economic recovery, today we will turn our attention to economic and technical cooperation, and how we can harness opportunities in this space to expedite our recovery,” Minister Mahuta added.

Acknowledging the role for APEC to play in combating climate change, ministers will hear from the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa on the real-time challenges of decarbonization just days ahead of COP26.

While APEC accounts for 60 percent of global GDP, the same percentage is also true for emissions, according to the latest APEC Regional Trends Analysis. Over the past 30 years, emissions per person in APEC has been on an upward trend, even as the rest of the world has remained stable on this measure.

Ministers will discuss measures to pursue green growth and sustainable development as well as enhancing access to goods and services that support low-emission and climate-resilient economies. This includes reducing tariffs on a wider range of environmentally friendly goods and services, which will help the environment and lower the barriers to trade.

“I want to acknowledge the spirit of collaboration and focus that APEC Ministers bring to the virtual table,” said Minister Mahuta. “I am glad to see that we stand united in our approach to address some of the greatest challenges of our generation.”

“We have worked together, learned from each other, and strengthened our connections to ensure that the Asia-Pacific region comes through the pandemic stronger than it was before,” she concluded.

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