In Chile and Colombia, the SDGs are Driving the Future
About
P4G presence in South America is anchored with country partnerships in Chile and Colombia—two countries with a combined population of more than 66 million, two mega cities in Santiago and Bogotá and an increased focus on sustainable development to drive their economic growth.
In Chile, P4G’s leadership team recently met with Ministries of Environment, Transport and Energy to begin partnership facilitation and learn about the nation’s plans towards a green growth future.
FAST FACTS
CHILE
Population 18 million
Largest City Santiago (5 million)
Annual GDP 4.2%
GDP USD $247 billion
COLOMBIA
Population 48.6 Million
Largest City Bogota (8 million)
Annual GDP 2.2%
GDP USD $282.5 billion
The country’s Climate Change and Sustainability Agency (ASCC), in collaboration with many of the agencies with which P4G met, aims to materialize significant changes across the country and in both the private and public sectors to promote transformation towards a low carbon economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, urge more efficient resource consumption, and lower pollution.
Each of Chile’s objectives is informed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs), and thus brings the country into a larger global network of green growth trailblazers.
Consequently, the Chilean government stepped forward as a strong incubator of P4G partnerships. The Ministries recognized the SDG areas of the circular economy, energy efficiency and healthy cities as vital partnership categories well in line with the ASCC’s long-term development plan.
“Chile’s partnership with P4G comes at an excellent time – in the year since the ASCC’s formation, the Agency has begun setting the foundation for really transformative action in Chile: and this action is what we see in P4G,” said ASCC Executive Director Juan Ladrón de Guevara González. “P4G partnerships will be vital to strengthening and guiding our continued growth and leadership – and keeping innovation at the forefront of our strategy.”
During meetings held in Colombia, P4G’s newest partner country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Danish Embassy, and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) all emphasized the country’s alignment with its SDG-driven National Development Plan -- the Todos por un Nuevo País (All for a New Country). In 2015, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos passed the plan with the goal of pursuing three main pillars: peace, fairness and education. In the years since, the government has backed the plan entirely – garnering buy-in from local governments as well as the private sector.
Colombia’s pursuit of these guiding pillars includes SDG-informed strategies focused around improved infrastructure, social mobility, good governance and transformed landscapes – all as components of economic growth.
P4G’s partnership with Colombia will aim to work within these strategies to further emphasize the public-private overlap inherent in the National Development Plan, and to support existing partnerships already innovating within this space.
“The global coalition that P4G brings to the table will be an outstanding resource for encouraging Colombia’s SDG dialogue both publicly and in the private sector,” Gabriela Gutierrez, Second Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia remarked. “While we are already excited about how our National Development Plan recognizes improved peace, fairness and education as both public and private responsibilities, P4G will help us recognize innovative solutions and learn from global best practices in pursuit of even greater success.”
“P4G looks forward to working alongside both governments as they use the SDGs to guide innovation across sectors as well as forward-thinking policies for a sustainable, inclusive future,” commented Leila Surratt, P4G Head of Strategy and Engagement, following the trip’s conclusion.
P4G Global Director Ian De Cruz added, “Both countries’ aims articulate exactly the intersection that P4G occupies – we’ll look forward to working with Chile and Colombia as green growth leaders for the entire region.”