30 December 2015: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) published a guide to using scenario building and input-output analysis as tools for integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The paper is part of ESCAP’s ‘Greening of Economic Growth Series’ that supports policymakers in moving away from the conventional “grow first, clean up later” approach.

The report, titled ‘Integrating the Three Dimensions of Sustainable Development: A Framework and Tools,’ was produced in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Integrated Sustainability Analysis group at the University of Sydney.

The authors note that the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015 presents new challenges for policy makers wishing to incorporate the three dimensions of sustainable development in policy making. The report outlines the challenges of integrating the three dimensions at each stage of the policy cycle, from agenda-setting to policy formulation, implementation, and finally monitoring and evaluation.

The authors propose that qualitative analysis can be strengthened through the practice of scenario building, providing recent examples from India and the Mekong region. They suggest that quantitative analysis, meanwhile, can be promoted through input-output analysis, which provides an analytical framework that incorporates the contributions of many sectors, including mining, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, trade, transportation and services. [Publication: Integrating the Three Dimensions of Sustainable Development: A Framework and Tools] [Publication Webpage]