IISD Speech: President and CEO Scott Vaughan at PAGE Ministerial Conference, Berlin

In a speech delivered at the PAGE Ministerial Conference in Berlin on March 27, 2017, IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan critiques current trade and investment models, specifically focusing on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in sustainable development.

• Scott Vaughan argues that the EU-Canada CETA agreement, while improving transparency and consolidating nine bilateral investment treaties into one, fails to meet the thresholds required for a truly inclusive multilateral investment court. He notes that CETA improves the investor-state arbitration model by "creating a roster of independent judges" and clarifying concepts like "expropriation," but questions why investment provisions are contained within trade agreements and why they protect investors without setting clear responsibilities for them.
• IISD advocates for a single multilateral investment court that is inclusive and provides "meaningful (not merely formal) access to justice" for stakeholders including governments, communities, individuals, and investors. This proposed court would move beyond contract law to incorporate international legal obligations such as "Paris climate action, ILO Convention 169, human rights and other laws and norms."
• Vaughan suggests that the WTO may not be the ideal venue for a new multilateral investment agreement because the organization is primarily focused on "disciplines" and has historically struggled to integrate goals beyond "trade and economic liberalization." He suggests the WTO might be better served by returning to its "core areas of competence" rather than expanding its mandate.
• The speech highlights Brazil as a leader in developing an alternative model for investment agreements. Unlike traditional models focused on protection and litigation, Brazil's approach emphasizes "hands-on tools to promote and facilitate transborder investment."
• Vaughan expresses concern over the state of multilateralism, noting that G20 finance ministers failed in an early March 2017 communiqué to endorse an "open, rules-based trading system" and that language regarding climate change was "expunged."

APA

Vaughan, S. (2017). IISD Speech: President and CEO Scott Vaughan at PAGE Ministerial Conference, Berlin. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-page-ministerial-conference

Chicago

Vaughan, Scott. IISD Speech: President and CEO Scott Vaughan at PAGE Ministerial Conference, Berlin. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-page-ministerial-conference.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Vaughan |first1=Scott |title=IISD Speech: President and CEO Scott Vaughan at PAGE Ministerial Conference, Berlin |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=27 March 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-page-ministerial-conference |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{vaughan2017iisd, author = {Vaughan, Scott}, title = {{IISD Speech: President and CEO Scott Vaughan at PAGE Ministerial Conference, Berlin}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/iisd-speech-president-and-ceo-scott-vaughan-page-ministerial-conference}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }