IISD Speech: IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, Geneva

In a speech at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan emphasizes that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are fragile and require a shift toward holistic measurement of national well-being. He argues that GDP fails to reflect the anxieties of citizens regarding wages, health, and the environment, and advocates for a framework based on human, natural, produced, and social capital. Vaughan calls for the alignment of green and climate finance with the SDGs to support sustainable infrastructure and highlights gender equality as a prerequisite for achieving all SDG targets.

• The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is currently fragile due to various backlashes, including those targeting climate change, as well as rising protectionism, anti-migration rhetoric, and reductions in international development assistance.
• GDP is an insufficient measure of national well-being because it does not capture critical factors such as wages, job security, health, education, and environmental quality. IISD advocates for a comprehensive wealth perspective based on four pillars: human capital, natural capital, produced capital, and social capital.
• Achieving the SDGs requires a transformative and integrated approach that transcends the institutional structures of the Bretton Woods system, as the SDGs did not create new global implementing institutions beyond the High Level Political Forum (HLPF).
• There is a need to align innovations in green and climate finance, such as Green Bonds and the World Bank's Sustainable Development Bond, with the SDGs to fund an estimated USD 50 trillion in infrastructure spending over the next 20 years.
• Gender equality is identified as both a standalone goal and a necessary means to achieve all other SDGs, meaning the overall agenda cannot be realized without addressing discrimination against women.

APA

Vaughan, S. (2017). IISD Speech: IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, Geneva. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-iisd-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-regional-forum

Chicago

Vaughan, Scott. IISD Speech: IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, Geneva. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-iisd-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-regional-forum.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Vaughan |first1=Scott |title=IISD Speech: IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, Geneva |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=25 April 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-iisd-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-regional-forum |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{vaughan2017iisd, author = {Vaughan, Scott}, title = {{IISD Speech: IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, Geneva}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-iisd-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-regional-forum}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }