Dr. Jorge Gómez-Paredes, director of SDSN Andes During the ZEU (Center for International Development and Environmental Research) Colloquium, held in February, the director of SDSN Andes and Visiting Professor of the SDGnexus Network, Dr. Jorge Gómez-Paredes highlighted that half of the 15-year period has already elapsed implementation of the 2030 Agenda and that, with seven years to go, several challenges need to be addressed for any significant progress towards the SDGs to materialize.
One of those challenges, which has been largely overlooked, is understanding and monitoring the “spillover effects” of countries in relation to the SDGs, that is, how countries affect each other in their SDG achievements. . Dr. Gómez-Paredes proposed a definition and characterization of SDG-related spillovers and the application of multi-regional input-output (MRIO) models to assess import-related SDG spillovers in a systematic and comprehensive manner. This approach is based on the integration (“expansion”) of the MRIO models with data compatible with some of the 232 indicators of the global indicator framework proposed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (IAEG- SDG) of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
He also presented the preliminary results of a recent study carried out with his peers on the soybean commodities produced in Argentina and consumed around the world and how these global value chains teleconnect the SDGs between countries.
The results showed positive and negative effects on Argentina’s SDGs (for example, those related to employment -SDG 8- and the risk of eutrophication -SDG 14-) driven by global consumption of soybean commodities. This study will soon be submitted to an academic journal for publication. Dr. Gómez-Paredes teaches an introductory course on sustainable development from the perspective of complex systems in the Sustainable Transition master’s program.
His research focuses on ecological economics, industrial ecology, and political ecology, with a particular interest in understanding the indirect economic effects on social cohesion.