The Pacific Alliance: Towards a Model of Sustainable Development ()
1. Introduction
The Pacific Alliance began on April 28, 2011 as a regional integration initiative comprised of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, within the framework of the Latin American Pacific Basin Initiative and it acquired legal and formal existence on 6 June 2012, with the signature of the Framework Agreement. The process seeks to create attractive markets among its member countries and enhance their competitiveness in the wider world.
The objective of the Pacific Alliance is to form an area of deep integration that boosts further growth, development and competitiveness of the economies it comprises, by progressively seeking free movement of goods, services, capital and people, as well as becoming a platform for economic and trade integration with a projection towards the Asia-Pacific region.
This alliance frames an integration process that seeks to transcend in the commercial field with the aim of strengthening joint and coordinated action between promotion agencies, as well as cooperation aimed at promoting the strengthening of the competitiveness and innovation of SMEs. In the same way, it seeks to promote research on climate change, as well as to facilitate student and academic mobility, the mobility of people, among others.
The main objectives of this alliance are (Framework Agreement of the Pacific Alliance, 2015) :
· To build, in a participatory and consensual manner, an area of deep integration to move progressively toward the free movement of goods, services, capital and people.
· To promote greater growth, development and competitiveness of the economies of its Member States in order to achieve greater well-being for their inhabitants.
· To become a platform for economic and commercial integration and projection to the world, with special emphasis on Asia Pacific.
The Alliance has a comprehensive agenda, determined by results already achieved in trade, in joint and coordinated action between promotion agencies, cooperation to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation of SMEs, research in climate change, student and academic mobility and the facilitation of migration movements.
It should also be mentioned that the Pacific Alliance has an Additional Protocol to the Framework Agreement, the entry into force of which allowed 92 per cent of the products marketed between the four countries to be exchanged without paying tariffs, the reduction of barriers to trade, the settlement of disputes, streamlining import and export operations, facilitation of trade in services, among others (Framework Agreement of the Pacific Alliance, 2015) .
In addition, the conception of sustainable development has emerged at the international level, which implies two issues that must be highlighted. The first is that obstacles to people’s well-being are common to a large number of nations. The second is the need for cooperation between States at the forefront of the strategies necessary to improve the population’s standard of living (National Human Rights Commission, Mexico, 2016) . Therefore, with the approval of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the General Assembly of the United Nations (ONU, Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 2015) , it is a clear reflection of the intention to lead global actions towards the realization of people’s potential and comply with the protection of human rights.
By 2030, the goal is for all products to move freely between the four countries; the reduction of barriers to trade. It has also achieved a free flow of people thanks to the elimination of visas for tourism and business between the four countries (ABC, the Pacific Alliance, 2021) .
The Pacific Alliance deals mainly with the following themes (ABC, the Pacific Alliance, 2015) :
1) Institutional matters: In order to comply with the commitments assumed by the High Level Group (HLG) of the Pacific Alliance, a technical team works in the institutional and transversal disciplines, as well as in the dispute settlement mechanism that allows Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
In addition, it regulates the institutional and transversal disciplines that the Pacific Alliance will contain, as well as the dispute settlement mechanism that will allow the Parties, in an agile and efficient manner, to solve problems that may arise from the application or interpretation of the normative provisions of the Pacific Alliance.
Some of the main functions of this technical group are (Technical Group Institutional Affairs, 2022) : a) Legal reviews on the instruments emanating from other Technical Groups of the Pacific Alliance; b) Legal reviews of legally binding and non-binding instruments that may be concluded by Member States within the framework of the Pacific Alliance and; c) To provide legal assistance to the GAN and the other technical groups.
2) Trade and integration: it regulates provisions related to tariff liberalization, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, as well as trade facilitation and customs cooperation. Subgroups: Regulatory Cooperation in Cosmetics; Trade Facilitation and Customs Cooperation; and Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE).
3) Committee of experts that analyzes the proposals of the CEAP: This Committee aims to respond to the proposals that are presented for possible incorporation into the work of the Pacific Alliance. Likewise, it seeks to constitute itself as an instance of coordination, linkage and articulation between this initiative and the CEAP (Technical Group Committee of Experts-CEAP, 2022) .
The main functions of this committee are: a) To hold regular meetings to identify, evaluate and follow up on the issues of interest of the CEAP; b) To promote meetings between the technical bodies of the Alliance and the CEAP in order to have a communication channel and define work agendas; c) To keep up-to-date the inventory of projects worked with the CEAP; d) To report and suggest to the National Coordinators actions to follow in response to requests from the private sector.
4) Public procurement: it establishes commitments at all levels of government for access to state procurement markets, so that the government entities of the States of the Pacific Alliance will be able to obtain greater benefits in terms of quality and price in their contracting of goods and services.
The inclusion of public procurement in the Framework Agreement has allowed the private sector of States parties access to more alternatives at the time they want to make a purchase, represented in better prices and conditions resulting in more efficient spending. This is intended to increase business opportunities for economic operators, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, to participate in the market and to be more competitive.
5) Cooperation: its objective is the development of common projects in different areas such as education; environment and climate change; innovation, science and technology; among others.
6) Education: seeks to strengthen the links of educational integration through cooperation actions, aimed at improving the skills and capacities of the population of the member countries and their access to quality education, as essential tools for the development of human capital and to boost the productivity and competitiveness of the economies of the Pacific Alliance.
7) Communication strategy: it designs and implements communication strategies, with the aim of the Pacific Alliance being recognized worldwide as a model of regional integration that promotes economic and commercial development, competitiveness and effective cooperation among its members, within the framework of a global economy.
8) Innovation: it designs, proposes and coordinates programs and activities to achieve productive and competitive improvements in the countries of the Pacific Alliance, highlighting the importance of innovation as a tool to improve the competitiveness of the Pacific Alliance and its member countries.
9) Mining: it allows and encourages the exchange of experiences in areas such as community participation, indigenous development, job security, innovation, water resources and energy, in addition to generating a land registry of production indicators and available resources of this economic zone, in order to develop public policies for the sector.
10) Movement of people, business and facilitation for migratory transit: promotes the free movement of people from an integral perspective within the Pacific Alliance. Subgroup on Immigration Security.
11) Intellectual property: it aims to share experiences and information in order to develop joint actions and deepen the commitments already acquired in this area.
12) SMEs: defines support mechanisms to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from the opportunities offered by the Pacific Alliance, as engines of economic growth and employment.
13) External Relations: it seeks to contribute to the establishment of a permanent and fruitful dialogue between Member Countries and Observer States and third parties, with a view to promoting the objectives of the Pacific Alliance.
14) Services and capital: establish clear, predictable and legally certain rules to promote trade in services and investment, on issues such as cross-border trade in services, electronic commerce, maritime transport, telecommunications and financial services. Consumer Protection Subgroup.
15) International fiscal transparency: it aims to develop common best practices in tax and fiscal matters.
16) Tourism: it aims to strengthen and develop cooperative relationships based on the design of initiatives that seek to increase tourist flows in the Pacific Alliance.
2. The Summits of the Pacific Alliance
2.1. Presidential Summits
Since its inception, there have been ten presidential summits and fourteen ministerial meetings. The eighth Summit took place in Cartagena, Colombia, on 10 February 2014. The ninth presidential summit was held on 19-20 June 2014, with the participation of presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. At that meeting, Mexico received the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance (Organization of American States, Foreign Trade Information System, 2022) .
The 10th Presidential Summit of the Pacific Alliance took place in July 2015, with the attendance of Heads of State and Government of the economic trade bloc and representatives of 32 observer States and international organizations. The event began with a two-day High Level Group (GAN) meeting bringing together Ministers of Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs from the Pacific Alliance countries. The high-ranking officials discussed the progress made by technical groups and presented a complete assessment of the process status, highlighting cooperation, SMEs and innovation, among others.
At the Paracas Summit, Mexico handed over the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance to Peru. Likewise, Presidents of the Pacific Alliance signed the Declaration of Paracas, in which they highlighted the upcoming entry into force of the Framework Agreement; the progress achieved in the process of improvement of the Additional Protocol; and, of the Agreement that created the Fund for Cooperation. They also expressed their willingness to continue strengthening cooperation with observer states.
During this Summit 10 new countries were admitted as observers: Austria, Denmark, Georgia, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Poland, Sweden and Thailand.
The 11th Presidential Summit of the Pacific Alliance took place from 28 June to 01 July 2016, with the attendance of Heads of State and Government of the economic trade bloc and representatives of 49 observer states and international organizations.
During the XIII Presidential Summit, held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on July 24-25, 2018, Member States signed the Declaration of Puerto Vallarta. The Sixteenth Summit of the Pacific Alliance, that took place on January 26, 2022, concluded with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with Singapore and the signing of a Declaration on Creative Economy.
2.2. Ministerial Meetings and Other-Related Documents
On August 26, 2013, as part of the ninth Ministerial Meeting, the Pacific Alliance reached an agreement to liberalize 100 percent of their trade. The agreement also provides for the immediate reduction of 92 percent of tariff headings (Organization of American States, Foreign Trade Information System, 2022) .
The Eleventh Ministerial Meeting took place on 30 May 2014. The meeting was held to review the progress made by the technical groups and to set the agenda for the Pacific Alliance Summit in June 2014. The Twelfth Ministerial Meeting took place on 19 June 2014. On the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly, the Council of Ministers of the Pacific Alliance countries met on September 25, 2014, in New York.
On November 2, 2014, ministers of the Pacific Alliance and of the MERCOSUR countries gathered in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in order to advance a dialogue between both blocks and identify potential areas of cooperation. This meeting responds to a mandate of the heads of State of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru who pledged to move forward in the dialogue with other integration initiatives in the region.
3. The Environment and Green Growth Technical Group (GTMACV)
At the operational level, the Pacific Alliance works with 26 technical working groups (Organization of American States, Foreign Trade Information System, 2022) .
One of them is The Environment and Green Growth Technical Group (GTMACV, by its acronym in Spanish), established in 2016 with the aim of building a space for dialogue among the member states of the Pacific Alliance and the private sector, for the development and implementation of an agenda that promotes sustainability and guides its actions towards green growth, taking into account the characteristics and realities of each Member.
For the formation of this technical group, different meetings were held, including the following (The Pacific Alliance and the Environment: Towards a sustainable development model based on green growth, 2019) :
The first, in December 2014, was the Meeting of Presidents of the Pacific Alliance within the framework of the COP20 on Climate Change, held in Lima, Peru. It adopted the Declaration of the Presidents of the Pacific Alliance on Climate Change at COP 20/CMP 10.
In September of the following year, the Meeting of the Environment Ministers was held in New York. On that occasion, the dialogue was initiated to form a Regional Green Growth Platform.
Subsequently, in 2016, 2 main meetings were held. The first was the Meeting of Ministers of the Environment, held in March in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, where the Declaration towards a Green Growth Platform was adopted, promoting the development of an environmental agenda that strengthens sustainability in the region. The second was the XI Summit of the Pacific Alliance, held in July in Puerto Varas, Chile, in which the formal creation of the GTMACV was approved.
Likewise, in 2017, two meetings were held. The first, in June in Cali, Colombia, was the XII Summit of the Pacific Alliance, where the Progress of the Group and the new specific mandates on climate change were recognized. The second, in November in Bonn, Germany, was the Meeting of Environment Ministers, where the progress of the GTMACV and possible areas of cooperation in green growth were reviewed.
In 2018, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the XIII Summit of the Pacific Alliance was held, in which the progress of the Technical Group and the new specific mandates in terms of sustainable production and consumption were recognized.
In 2019, the XIV Summit was held in Lima, Peru, in which issues relevant to the future of the Alliance were discussed. On that occasion, the President of Ecuador was invited as an observer.
Subsequently, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the XV Summit was held virtually. During the summit, the presidents signed the Declaration of Santiago that gives an account of the “deep sorrow for the loss of thousands of human lives in the region, as well as the loss of millions of jobs and the increase in poverty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic”, their commitment to continue working together to recover from the effects generated by COVID-19 and overcome its economic and social impacts (Embassy of Chile in Singapore, 2020) . Likewise, negotiations were held with Singapore so that it becomes part of the Pacific Alliance as an Associated State. In this sense, the agreement ratifies the commitment of the parties to free trade and globalization, and, at the same time, promotes trade in goods and services between two dynamic regions, in particular, digital trade.
Recently, the XVI Summit of the Pacific Alliance was held in January 2022, in Bahía Malaga, Colombia. On this occasion, it culminated in the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with Singapore and the signing of a Declaration on the Creative Economy. In January 2022, the XVI Summit of the Pacific Alliance was held in Bahía Malaga, Colombia. On this occasion, it culminated in the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with Singapore and the signing of a Declaration on Creative Economy. In October of the same year, in Mexico City, the issues of the accession group process of Costa Rica and Ecuador were taken up again, during which the members of the mechanism agreed to establish preparatory work for the incorporation of these countries as soon as possible. Likewise, the logistical and substantive aspects of the XVII Summit of the Pacific Alliance that Mexico will host in its capacity as pro tempore presidency, in Oaxaca, Mexico, on November 25, 2022, were reviewed.
It is worth mentioning, as Castaño emphasizes, that Presidential Declarations do not have binding force (Castaño, 2019) . Thus, beyond the fact that the Pacific Alliance serves as a forum to share experiences and systematize studies of the four States Parties, and also develop cooperation activities with other economies, this initiative is not an engine with its own regulatory sources, and to date we can only understand this block as an instance of convergence, as at the time were different initiatives in our region (Gallegos, 2020) .
4. Benefits of the Pacific Alliance and Economic Matters
Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru have solid and democratic institutional structures and systems of regular elections of their governments; their markets are dynamic and globalized and they offer favorable conditions for investment. According to the World Bank´s Doing Business 2013 the Pacific Alliance countries rank first, third, fourth and fifth among the 32 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean for ease of doing business.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Pacific Alliance countries represents 36% of the GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean. Average growth was 5% in 2012, compared to a world level of 3%.
· The four countries in the Alliance enjoy strong economic stability.
· The average rate of unemployment in Alliance countries is 7%.
· The principal exports of the Alliance countries are fuels and minerals, agricultural products and manufactured goods. Their offer thus complements that of the Asia Pacific markets.
· In 2012 the Alliance countries represented 41% of total foreign investment flows in Latin America and the Caribbean.
· Intra-regional trade between the Alliance countries represents 4% of their total foreign trade, with a strong growth potential.
· The Alliance countries represented 50% of Latin America’s foreign trade in 2012, with a growth of 4% in exports and 4% in imports compared to 2011.
5. The Pacific Alliance and the 2030 Agenda: A Look at Environmental Sustainability
In order to continue promoting and consolidating an area of deep integration, to generate greater growth, development and competitiveness, and to contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Pacific Alliance seeks to focus its work on four axes that will contribute to achieving the free movement of goods, services, capital and people in 2030: more integrated, more global, more connected and more citizen-oriented.
By 2030, the Pacific Alliance will be a trade bloc that grows sustainably, will depend less on raw materials, and will have a more competitive, efficient, and productive and fully integrated market. In addition, it will have a fiscal, tax and financial regulatory framework that favors an integrated market for financing infrastructure projects and responding to natural disasters; the development of an electronic market; and the promotion of the participation of institutional investors from the Pacific Alliance countries in the capital markets of the four countries.
In relation to being “integrative”, it refers to the fact that it seeks to be a commercial block that grows in a sustainable way and will have a more competitive, efficient and productive market.
In terms of being “global”, given the importance that the Pacific Alliance is taking at the worldwide level, by 2030 the presence and joint relations outside the bloc will have grown, consolidating itself as the benchmark of an ambitious and pragmatic integration model in the world, especially in Latin America and the Asia Pacific. The Pacific Alliance will continue to promote free trade and globalization.
This integration model will then have succeeded in consolidating its dual dimension. On the one hand, the articulation of the Pacific Alliance in international forums, especially APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum) and the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and, on the other hand, it will have reached the proposed levels of regional economic integration, taking into consideration the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
To this end, the Pacific Alliance will focus on (Pacific Alliance Strategic vision for 2030) :
· To become the main platform for trade integration in Latin America, increasing trade and cooperation agreements with all those countries and blocs with which we share similar models of economic development and integration into the international market.
· Consolidate the figure of the Associated States. There will be ten new Associate States, thus forming a network of integration between Latin America and the world, with disciplines of ambitious standards that stimulate trade and investment, taking advantage of economies of scale.
· Establish new diplomatic representations and shared trade offices; and continue the joint work of export promotion agencies and promote tourism.
· Establish economic and trade cooperation links with other blocs, particularly with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as obtain observer status in the Asia Pacific Cooperation Forum (APEC) in which the Pacific Alliance should be consolidated as a path to achieve the Free Trade Area with Asia Pacific.
For its part, “connected”, mentions that, at present, being in a globalized world, by the year 2030, citizens and companies will be digitally connected having access to all available information and greater communication that promotes relationships at all levels. Finally, “citizen-oriented” refers to the fact that the Pacific Alliance will enjoy the free movement of people, promote work, academic, cultural and business opportunities to its citizens, which help consolidate a widely recognized identity with a common vision. With these four guidelines, dialogue and strategic programs between governments, entrepreneurs, academia and civil society will be reinforced, for the benefit of the Member States.
To this end, the Pacific Alliance will focus on (Pacific Alliance Strategic vision for 2030) :
· To become a Regional Digital Market (MRD) that incorporates Information and Communication Technologies in productive processes and closes the digital gap, providing a world-class infrastructure that facilitates, encourages, and protects investments, with trained human resources in the use of modern technologies.
· Promote SMEs’ access to modern technologies. • Take advantage of the opportunities and face the challenges of the knowledge-based economy and innovation (Industry 4.0) as a tool for competitiveness.
By last, thanks to the free movement of persons, the Pacific Alliance will be characterized by the provision of labor, academic, cultural, and business opportunities for its citizens, which will help consolidate a widely recognized identity based on values, principles, customs, and a common vision. Dialogue and strategic programs between governments, businesspeople, academia, and civil society will have been strengthened for the benefit of the four countries.
To this end, the Pacific Alliance will achieve (Pacific Alliance Strategic vision for 2030) :
· Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure that the benefits of the Pacific Alliance reach all citizens, contributing to overcoming inequality and poverty.
· To have a sustainable agenda with joint projects for adaptation and mitigation to the effects of climate change and clean energy, among others.
· Contribute to inclusion by transversalizing the gender approach in the Pacific Alliance.
· Establish mechanisms to complement and increase financial resources to promote measures to address climate change and contribute to green growth.
· To achieve free transit of persons (labor, professional and tourism).
However, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), covering a wide range of subjects position environmental issues at a first level of relevance (Olatunbosun, 2016) , along with economic and social issues. The Goals were agreed in 2015, by the United Nations, and within them is responsible production and consumption, and within this purpose appear a series of goals (Parra, 2018) .
Meanwhile, in March 2016, through the Cartagena Ministerial Declaration, the Pacific Alliance reaffirmed its special interest in strengthening sustainable consumption and production patterns, with a green growth strategy that promotes investments and markets for environmental goods and services, it promotes green jobs and supports progress towards decoupling economic growth from the unsustainable use of natural resources.
It also reaffirmed its commitment to actions to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and to address climate change in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities. The Presidential Declaration of Puerto Varas, Chile (July 2016), formalizes the creation of the Technical Group on Environment and Green Growth (hereinafter the GTMACV), and gives it the mandate to: Generate a space for dialogue between the governments of the countries of the Pacific Alliance and the private sector, with the aim of developing and implementing an agenda that promotes the sustainability of the Pacific Alliance, and orients its actions towards green growth, taking into account the characteristics and realities of each country (Green Growth in the Pacific Alliance, 2019) .
Subsequently, the Alliance expressed its conviction to continue promoting a green growth strategy as a way to face the challenges of climate change, reaffirmed its support for the Paris Agreement and declared its commitment to identify possible voluntary market mechanisms in the region, which was reflected in the Cali Presidential Declaration of 2017.
These commitments are in addition to the work of the countries through their relationship with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of which Chile, Mexico and Colombia are members and with which Peru maintains close ties. This relationship is important not only because it will mark the future of the economic and commercial development of the countries, but also because of its impact on the environmental management of each country and the harmonization of standards.
6. The Objectives of the Technical Group on Environment and Green Growth
The GTMACV was established with the aim of building a space for dialogue between the governments of the countries of the Pacific Alliance and the private sector, for the development and implementation of an agenda that promotes sustainability and orients its actions towards green growth, taking into account the characteristics and realities of each country.
In this regard, the member countries of the Alliance have understood that climate change is, today, the main threat to human development, the region being an extremely vulnerable area that is already suffering its effects. Therefore, the Cali Declaration of 2017 reaffirmed its individual and collaborative commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This includes strengthening measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems for greenhouse gas emissions as well as other pollutants, while identifying and promoting cooperative initiatives to implement the GTMACV Action Plan. This approach emphasizes a better understanding, compatibility, and collaboration of MRV efforts across countries.
For that matter, the main objective of the GTMACV is to generate a space for dialogue between the governments that make up the Pacific Alliance and the private sector, to develop and implement an agenda that promotes sustainability in the Pacific Alliance and orients its actions towards green growth, according to the characteristics and realities of each country.
The main focus of work of the GTMACV is (The Pacific Alliance and the Environment: Towards a sustainable development model based on green growth, 2019) :
Work in synergy with existing collaborative initiatives and in coordination with other technical groups.
1) Identify and promote cooperation initiatives and projects that contribute to the implementation of the Environment and Green Growth Action Plan.
2) Identify barriers and opportunities between the public and private sector to move towards green growth.
3) Reinforce the elaboration, implementation and articulation of the green growth agendas of the Ministries of the Environment of the Pacific Alliance.
4) Establish strategic alliances with the public and private sector for the implementation of said Action Plan and for the relevant actions in relation to green growth and climate change.
5) Advance in the improvement of information systems, measurement of environmental variables and green growth and assess the feasibility of implementing a common system of indicators for monitoring sustainable development goals.
6) Analyze the scope of measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems on climate change.
7) Analyze experiences and lessons learned in implementing recommendations from OECD Environmental Performance Assessment Reports, as a starting point for information and job opportunities.
8) Analyze the situation of the PA countries in terms of public policies, aimed at supporting the transition to a green economy and identifying potential areas of cooperation.
7. Pacific Alliance Policies and Green Growth
The Member States in different declarations and cooperation activities have expressed a commitment to sustainable development, an aspect that also finds recognition in their Strategic Vision for the year 2030 (Gallegos, 2020) . Thus, the Pacific Alliance is committed to green growth and its countries have already begun the transition to a green economy.
In this regard, it should be recalled that the Pacific Alliance seeks to promote greater growth, development and competitiveness of the economies of the States Parties, with a view to achieving well-being, overcoming socio-economic inequality and the social inclusion of its inhabitants; aspects that go in conjunction with the SDGs. It should be recalled that SDG number 17, “Alliances to Achieve the Goals,” promotes coalitions to achieve these goals, an aspect that is interesting to ponder in understanding the external ties of cooperation that this Latin American subregional initiative has been building (Gallegos, 2020) .
In 2016, however, the concept of green growth was adopted as a framework for promoting trade and growth in the group. This platform aims to ensure sustainable, equitable and inclusive economic development in these countries, reaffirming the interest in strengthening sustainable consumption and production patterns, in order to help promote investments and markets for goods and services accordingly. Also indicating that there is a willingness to articulate and promote a common environmental agenda, which addresses shared environmental priorities and contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the framework of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (Gallegos, 2020) .
The four countries recognized sustainable trade as an engine of growth to foster an open and inclusive integration process with a strong environmental and social focus. It includes developing its green growth strategies, registering its intended and nationally determined contributions with the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In addition, they have national biodiversity strategies in force and have sustainable production and consumption policies, sustainable public procurement, among others.
The following Table 1 will be a brief mention of some policies and initiatives in each of the member countries that contain relevant initiatives linked to the promotion and transition towards a green economy (Green Growth in the Pacific Alliance, 2019) .
8. Conclusion
The Pacific Alliance in its promotion of green growth has to consider its role, not only as a global supplier of export products, but also as a consumer and importer of sustainable goods and services. The importance of the Pacific Alliance is not only its high export potential, but also an important demand for goods and services.
A transition to a green and inclusive economy can change consumption patterns and create an environmentally responsible awareness of consumption, if accompanied by sustainable consumption and production policies. This includes recognizing the role of government as an important economic agent and the importance of continuing initiatives that promote sustainability in government procurement.
In order to take advantage of these opportunities for trade and green growth, there are a variety of policy tools that can be used in the transition to a green
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Table 1. Green growth policies and initiatives by country.
economy. These tools can be used according to the priorities of the countries and the bloc, and their mixing and implementation varies according to the expected results. It is important to ensure that these policies comply with the principles contained in World Trade Organization agreements.
The tools for better management can be: regulatory frameworks and technical regulations; fiscal policies; economic and market instruments; sustainable green investments; sustainable public procurement; voluntary standards and certification; eco-innovation and technology transfer; international cooperation and dialogue between the different actors; education and development of new skills.