<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>332773</docID> <postdate>2024-11-10 07:56:36</postdate> <headline>PM readies for APEC summit in Peru</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-332774" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20231117001866322541-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="601" /></p> <caption>Anthony Albanese will this year head to Peru to attend the APEC summit. (AP PHOTO)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Dominic Giannini</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Transitioning to cleaner energy and working to reduce food wastage will feature at a major Asia-Pacific summit as world leaders prepare to meet in Peru.</strong></p> <p>Peru is hosting the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) between Sunday and Saturday, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to attend later in the summit.</p> <p>Peru's ambassador to Australia Vitaliano Gallardo has been working to bolster economic co-operation, with the South American nation pushing for more investment in its mining and critical mineral sectors.</p> <p>The APEC grouping brings together more than 20 economies to promote trade and investment.</p> <p>Mr Gallardo is hoping for endorsement of a roadmap on green hydrogen and regional standards to avoid food waste.</p> <p>"We want to also put some thoughts in the leaders' declaration on how to transition from an informal to a formal economy using digitalisation," he told AAP, with large sections of Peru still underpinned by cash payments.</p> <p>Peru is positioning itself as a gateway to South America and from the continent into Asia, with the opening of a new port just north of its capital Lima.</p> <p>It's working to court Australian mining giants to invest hundreds of millions of dollars across 51 projects in the pipeline through to 2035.</p> <p>It has large amounts of copper and lithium which are integral for building renewable technology.</p> <p>Lima wants to diversify away from a reliance on exports to China, which has $US25 billion ($A38 billion) invested in its mining and critical minerals sector, accounting for almost 30 per cent, according to its energy minister.</p> <p>Unprecedented global challenges including climate change, biodiversity loss and natural resource scarcity posed a threat to the environment and economic stability, Peru's Finance Minister Jose Arista Arbildo says.</p> <p>This made investment in clean energy technology crucial as environmental sustainability and economic growth were interconnected, he said.</p> <p>Mr Albanese has dismissed concerns a Trump presidency will hinder a renewables rollout, pointing to APEC and sideline meetings - including with Indonesia's leader - as evidence of international co-operation on the issue.</p> <p>Hosting APEC would provide a great opportunity to improve bilateral relationships, Mr Gallardo said.</p> <p>The summit was "a useful forum for dialogue but it's not a decision-making forum" that imposed binding agreements on members, Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network convenor Patricia Ranald said.</p> <p>Dr Ranald expects a focus on the transition to renewable energy, with a broad interest in decarbonising.</p> <p>"They tend to make statements on what they agree on but I think there would be a shared interest in the transition to low-carbon, green energy economies," she told AAP.</p> <p>"There's certainly a lot of interest in mining critical minerals."</p> <p>Given there was a session during the summit focusing on indigenous people, Dr Ranald said she hoped their rights would be put front and centre of the debate around increased mining.</p> </body>