Ph.D. in Economics. Vice President and Head of Paris Office at UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
Topic:
SDG Progress in the Asia-Pacific: Evidence from the 2026 Sustainable Development Report and Implications for APEC's Strategic Agenda
This presentation will discuss findings from the 2026 Sustainable Development Report — including the SDG Index and Dashboards — with a comparative focus on APEC member economies. Using cross-national data on SDG performance and new survey data on good governance for sustainable development, the presentation will identify patterns of progress and persistent challenges across APEC member countries. The presentation will explore the possible role that APEC countries could play in promoting global cooperation for sustainable development and an ambitious post-2030 sustainable development framework. Policy implications for long-term financing architecture, cross-border cooperation, policy pathways and data-driven governance will be discussed.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Guillaume Lafortune is Vice President and Head of SDSN Asia at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). With Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, and as the Director of SDSN’s Paris office from 2020 to 2026, he established the SDG Transformation Center - SDSN's flagship global program to advance long-term investment, policy and monitoring frameworks for sustainable development. The Center notably coordinates every year the preparation of the Sustainable Development Report series (which includes the SDG Index and Dashboards). Between 2020 and 2022, Guillaume was a member of The Lancet Commission on COVID-19, where he coordinated the taskforces on “Fiscal Policy and Financial Markets” and “Green Recovery”, and co-authored the final report of the Commission. He is also a member of the Grenoble Center for Economic Research (CREG) at the Université Grenoble Alpes. Previously, he served as an economist at the OECD in Paris and at the Ministry of Economic Development in the Government of Quebec (Canada). Guillaume is the author of 60+ scientific publications, book chapters, policy briefs, and international reports on sustainable development, economic policy, and good governance. He studied at the Université de Montréal and the Ecole Nationale d'Administration Publique (ENAP) and earned his PhD in Economics from Université Grenoble Alpes in France.
