Beyond GDP at the HLPF 2024: From ambition to action on SDG target 17.19

Although Target 17.19 comes at the end of a list of 169 lofty goals, it should not be overlooked on the road to 2030. Indices that complement GDP can assess a country’s long-term sustainability by taking into account natural, social and human capital. Measurements of total wealth and its components can provide decision-makers with important insights into their country’s sustainability path. National authorities can use this data to prioritize investments to improve climate resilience, protect biodiversity and manage natural capital.

In the run-up to the United Nations Future Summit, it is particularly important to find ways to implement SDG target 17.19. The UN Secretary-General describes “action complementary to GDP” as an important step to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs and leave no one behind.

This virtual side event of the 2024 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will examine the evidence from recent studies measuring comprehensive prosperity in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Trinidad and Tobago over a 25-year period. Speakers will reflect on developing indices using existing, national data sources and provide recommendations for using these complementary indices to better guide decision-making and implement the 2030 Agenda.

agenda

opening: Lynn Wagner, Executive Director, Tracking Progress, IISD

IISD presentation on pilot studies on measuring comprehensive prosperity in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Trinidad and Tobago: Livia Bizikova, Head, Evaluation and Monitoring, Progress Tracking

Panel discussion

1. Why is it important to go beyond GDP to advance the SDGs?

2. What are the concrete examples of strategies, measures and investments that countries could propose if different measures of progress were used?

3. What specific capacity gaps and needs exist at national and international level to advance efforts to go beyond GDP?

Panelists:

• Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics, UNCTAD
• Jane Mariara, Executive Director (ED) of the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP)
• Eva Svedling, Advisor, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency; former State Secretary, Swedish Ministry of the Environment
• Juliana Makonise, Zimbabwe, Winner of the Beyond GDP Essay Competition, SDG Lab
• Florencia Caro Sachetti Southern Voice, Buenos Aires Hub, CIPPEC (Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth)

Close: Next steps including the Summit of the Future