The Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) remains the preeminent economic priority for the Asia-Pacific business community.
Remarks to Public Private Dialogue on Renewable Energy

APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL18 JANUARY 2021, MALCOLM JOHNS, ABAC NZ
PUBLIC PRIVATE DIALOGUE ON PROPOSED APEC FRAMEWORK FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
Thanks for the opportunity to offer some concluding remarks for today’s dialogue.
Let me start by acknowledging all our speakers and participants from the audience who have offered some great insights and by expressing our thanks to Craig Emerson for his expert guidance of our discussion.
It is gratifying that this event has drawn interest from a wide range of participants from public and private sectors from multiple economies. We’re of course grateful to our ABAC colleagues for joining us and it’s particularly good to welcome a number of people who may not have had much connection with ABAC before.
ABAC is in the business of ideas. We try to think big thoughts and recommend them to governments. We rely on events like this to help us further conceptualise our thinking and turn it into something that is both workable and able to be recommended to APEC Leaders, Ministers and senior officials.
In this case we are at the beginning of the journey. I think it fair to say from today’s discussion that there is a consensus on the central proposition – that a future APEC Framework for trade and investment in renewable energy could promote and assist the transition to more sustainable energy and help build a low carbon future in the Asia Pacific region.
Having said that, the devil is likely to be in the detail, and there are number of hurdles to be overcome. We heard earlier about the barriers that exist at both production and consumption levels and that would serve to inhibit cross border trade in renewables. Eliminating non-tariff barriers, achieving greater regulatory coherence and appropriate standards, certification and quality assurance all have a role to play.
We heard that strengthening access to investment, finance and insurance would be key both for expanding production capacity and trade. And that developing renewable projects could assist directly to enhancing energy security in remote regions and developing economies. I am thinking certainly of parts of Asia and Latin America but also regions in New Zealand and Australia and the Pacific Islands here.
Lastly, we talked about the options already on the table to achieve some of this including APEC’s Environmental Goods List and the opportunity to add renewable energy technologies and especially services, the latter being a key interest of the New Zealand Government in its year of chairing APEC.
An APEC Framework cannot be built in the day. In terms of next steps, I am delighted that ABAC Japan and ABAC Australia have undertaken to champion this issue as part of our work programme for this year. A Task Force is to be formed within ABAC’s Sustainability Working Group to develop further the value proposition and turn this concept into a workable recommendation to APEC. We envisage several virtual meetings of the Task Force being held over the course of the year to come up with wording to be placed in ABAC’s Report to APEC Economic Leaders.
We will want to keep in touch with all of you as the proposal is developed and there may well be scope to reconvene this group at a later date. Thereafter we will need to work together to lobby our respective national governments to pay attention to the recommendation and to build the consensus amongst APEC economies required to adopt the Framework at a future meeting of APEC Economic Leaders.
We in ABAC New Zealand will be supporting this work strongly as the initiative fits well into our theme for 2021 of “People, place and prosperity” – people, because energy security is vital for livelihoods; place, because the transition to a more sustainable, low carbon future is directly connected to the ability to develop new forms of energy production and consumption; prosperity because we have the ability to develop new lines of business, trade and investment to support these ambitious goals.
So, may I express thanks to you all once again for your participation today and to Craig and the convenors of today’s discussion for their great leadership and foresight.
REGISTER WITH TRADE WORKS
Register to stay up to date with latest news, as well as saving and discussing articles you’re interested in.
Latest News
Remarks by Rachel Taulelei to APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade, 21 May 2022
ABAC NEW ZEALAND REMARKS TO ABAC-MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR TRADE DIALOGUE 21 MAY 2022 RACHEL TAULELEI ABAC NZ Chair, Ministers The Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) remains the preeminent economic priority for the Asia-Pacific business community. It...
Deepening ECONOMIC INTEGRATION and EQUIPPING BUSINESS FOR DYNAMIC, INCLUSIVE and SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ARE KEY to ECONOMIC RECOVERY, say business leaders
Vancouver, 28 April 2022 –Asia-Pacific business leaders in the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), meeting this week in Vancouver, affirmed their determination to continue to work closely together to respond to the challenge of sustaining the region’s growth...
FROM APEC AND CPTPP TO IPEF – SMALL STEP OR GIANT LEAP?
The US idea of an Indo Pacific Framework (IPEF) continues to gain traction but is not without complication. Aotearoa-New Zealand is a great joiner - from the very beginning of the United Nations to the important economic institutions like the WTO, APEC, CPTPP and...
Remarks to Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
NZ INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM REMARKS TO THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE COMMITTEE INTERNATIONAL TREATY EXAMINATION OF THE NZ/UK FREE TRADE AGREEMENT 17 MARCH 2022 STEPHEN JACOBI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Madam Chair, Members of the Committee Thank you for the...
Submission to the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
INTERNATIONAL TREATY EXAMINATION OF THENEW ZEALAND UNITED KINGDOM FREE TRADE AGREEMENT MARCH 2022 Introduction and Summary 1. This submission is made on behalf of the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) whose members are listed at Annex A 1 . NZIBF is a...
BUSINESS FORUM COMMENDS RUSSIA SANCTIONS LEGISLATION
The NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) has commended Parliament’s bipartisan Russia Sanctions legislation, targeting those involved in the invasion of Ukraine. “Tough times call for tough measures and this legislation is an appropriate response from New Zealand...
Remarks made by ABAC New Zealand Chair Rachel Taulelei to GS1 Retail Plenary, 25 February 2022
APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL ADDRESS TO GS1 RETAIL PLENARY25 FEBRUARY 2022 RACHEL TAULELEIABAC NZ HOW IDENTIFICATION AND TRUST ARE NEEDED TO ENABLE CROSS-BORDER TRADE E ngā mana, e ngā reo, rau rangatira mā, tēnā koutou katoa. It is a pleasure to be taking...
NZ/EU FTA – BLESSED BE THE CHEESEMAKERS
Will the NZ/EU FTA ever be finished, asks Stephen Jacobi. In the Monty Python film, “Life of Brian”, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is poorly heard by some of the crowd, but the message is passed on: “Blessed be the cheese makers”. Two thousand years later cheesemakers...
BUSINESS FORUM APPLAUDS “HISTORIC” NZ UK FTA
The conclusion of the NZ UK Free Trade Agreement is a historic moment for NZ’s trade, says the NZ International Business Forum. “This new free trade agreement, negotiated and concluded in record time, delivers unprecedented access to the UK market and sets the stage...
ABAC I Media Release
APEC NEWS RELEASE Issued byThe APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Embracing challenges, engaging collectively and enabling opportunities are key to Asia-Pacific success, say business leaders Singapore, 18 February 2022 – Asia-Pacific business leaders in the APEC...
GUEST POST: “Imagine if… Building a new future for Indigenous trade”
Indigenous business leaders from the APEC region contributed to the first-ever ABAC Indigenous Dialogue in July 2021. Carrie Stoddart-Smith imagines the wealth and well being Indigenous peoples could bring to international trade, if the opportunity is seized....
NZIBF 2021 Chair Report
The NZIBF Board meets with Indian High Commissioner H E Muktesh Paredeshi at its last meeting for 2021.ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 15 DECEMBER 2021 CHAIR’S REPORT I am pleased to present my first report on the activities and achievements of the NZ International Business...
Let’s try that again: Happy new year!
In another year of disruption and loss there have been some surprising wins for trade. The kindest thing that could be said about 2021 is that things didn’t quite work out as planned. We did not defeat the pandemic and lives and livelihoods continued to be lost....
A little breathing room at the WTO
A little breathing room at the WTO The emergence of Omicron has meant that the WTO Ministerial Conference has been put on hold – leaving in limbo key decisions about pandemic trade responses and fish subsidies (not to mention agriculture). But there is some good...
An Open Letter to Trade Minister O’Connor
22 November 2021 Hon Damien O’ConnorMinister of Trade and Export GrowthWELLINGTON Dear Minister As you and your colleagues prepare to gather in Geneva, we write this open letter to express the strong support of the New Zealand business community for ambitious...
0 Comments