PAGE Argentina closes forum on Industrial Development on 7 June with a focus on the importance of linking the world of work with the environmental agenda to achieve a transition towards a greener economy. PAGE’s efforts were discussed in a joint panel with the Minister of Environment of the Province of Buenos Aires, Daniela Vilar, and the Congresswomen to the National Parliament, Natalia Zaracho. Around 2,200 people attended the two-day event.
During the panel discussion, the participants explored the design of public policies to address the climate crisis from a perspective of social inclusion, without dividing production and environmental care, and to generate jobs and enhance the production of alternative energies without damaging the environment.
The joint panel brought together the Minister of Environment of the Province of Buenos Aires, Daniela Vilar, and the Congresswomen to the National Parliament Natalia Zaracho, PAGE National Coordinator Joaquín Etorena Hormaeche and Martín Dapelo, founding partner of ON Networking, a renewable energy and energy efficiency company.
Joaquin Etorena Hormaeche presented PAGE’s work in Argentina and projected a benefit for the productive sector with the development of green economies: “the changes in productivity that occur through green technological investment are very important for this agenda to have a correlation in reality”.
“Discussing the relationship between the Productive System, the Environment and Employment in the Province of Buenos Aires is urgent: the Province is and continues to be the Productive Heart of the country. This is where we need green technological innovation, where we need to create decent jobs, where we need to remedy and recover the environment as a process of social inclusion and development of opportunities for our population.” added Joaquin Etorena Hormaeche.
Daniela Vilar commented that, “The dichotomy between environmentalism and production is false. (…) We want to be there to work, to have high-level Argentine industry and added value. But that development must necessarily be sustainable and fair for our people.”
Natalia Zaracho highlighted, “when we talk about environment and production, we talk about the common home. To put humans at the centre. To do that we must take care of and value natural resources, but above all, the work of thousands of men and women that this involves. (…) So that the social and economic good that recycling brings in Argentina is valued accordingly and provides the well-being that our people deserve.”
The Productivity Congress of the Province of Buenos Aires is a forum for debate on strategies for development, production and employment in the province.
The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) consists of an alliance of five UN agencies, 8 funding partners, and 22 partner countries that work together to transform economies into drivers of sustainability. Argentina joined PAGE in 2018.
