13 December 2010: The US has announced that its priorities as host of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2011 will include green growth. The announcement came during an informal preparatory meeting of APEC Senior Officials in Honolulu, Hawaii, US, on 13 December 2010.

Three additional preparatory meetings will take place in 2011, culminating in the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Honolulu in November 2011. The US announcement emphasized the importance of accelerating growth and creating jobs across the region by addressing specific concerns for improving the trade and investment environment in specific priority areas, including: strengthening regional economic integration and expanding trade; promoting green growth; and expanding regulatory cooperation and advancing regulatory convergence.

On the occasion, US Senior Official Kurt Tong noted that “APEC has pledged to work to promote green growth and help our economies make a successful transition to a clean energy future. The United States aims to advance APEC’s work to address barriers to trade in environmental goods, including non-tariff measures related to advanced technology demonstration products, such as vehicles, as well as remanufactured and recycled goods.”

APEC officials will meet throughout 2011 in the US. The first meeting will be held in Washington, DC, in March. The second meeting will be in Big Sky, Montana, in June. The final preparatory meeting will be in San Francisco, California, in September. And the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will take place in Honolulu in November 2011. [APEC Press Release]