Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

As Father Christmas starts his travels around the world to deliver his presents I managed to hack the list which you may find interesting Nice: The co-chairs of the SDG OWG Ambassador Mr. Macharia Kamau Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya and Mr. Csaba Kőrösi Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of Hungary for achieving shepherding governments and stakeholders to an agreed set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Naughty:   Save the Children Fund Management for awarding its global legacy Award – to a former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Nice: while over 200 of Save the Children Funds own staff joined 100,000s of people condemning the decision even as further questions arose over his role in accepting fictitious intelligence promoted by the Bush-Cheney administration to justify the invasion of Iraq. Naughty: One of our favorite NGOs Greenpeace had some of their campaigners at the climate conference in Peru hoping to make a globa

The modalities resolution has now passed the UN General Assembly for the 2015 process. There are some key aspects that are worth mentioning. The first and most important is that: (b) the co-facilitators will ensure the engagement of the relevant stakeholders including major groups, civil society, scientific and knowledge institutions, parliaments, local authorities and the private sector, and seek their views, building upon the practices of the Open Working Group on sustainable development goals and in accordance with resolution xxx on the organization of the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post 2015 development agenda; This ensures a positive space for stakeholders to engage in the process.  How the co-facilitates interpret this will be vital but it will also require a responsible approach by stakeholders. There were a couple of incidents in the SDG OWG which cannot be repeated next year. To help new people engaging in the process there will be a trainin

Dear Friends, The 2015 Nexus Conference on Water, Food, Climate & Energy  will again be in Chapel Hill on the 15-17 th of March web site  here The conference is now accepting side event requests  here . While event themes will be determined by the organizers, they should be related to the conference themes: Sustainable and Resilient Development at a Local Level Transboundary, National and Local Nexus Governance Corporate Stewardship of the Nexus Financing in a Nexus World Sustainable Agriculture   Water Stress, Vulnerability, and Health   Managing Resources: Optimizing Co-Demands We are also open for attendance registration  here. The main plenary sessions of the conference will be: Science of the Nexus   Governing the Nexus Globally, Nationally and Locally No regrets: Health & the Nexus   Corporate Stewardship for the Nexus   Partnerships for the Nexus Speakers and Chairs include Confirmed speakers includ

Brussels, 16 December 2014 The Council adopted the following conclusions: "1. In the post-2015 agenda we have a great opportunity to address some of the key global issues facing the world today in a truly transformative manner. As the Council has emphasised in previous conclusions 1, foremost among these issues are the interrelated challenges of eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development in all its three dimensions (environmental, social and economic). To address these challenges in a coordinated and coherent manner, we need an ambitious agenda, which leaves no-one behind. It should be truly global and universal, with all countries and stakeholders playing their full part. These Council conclusions consider the progress so far and the opportunities ahead, as we enter the next stage of the international process. 2. Achieving a   transformative agenda is a key priority   and the EU and its Member States stand ready to engage in an open and constructive

The UK Parliamentary Environment  Audit Committee has just published its review of the the SDGs called ' Connected World: Agreeing ambitious Sustainable Development Goals in 2015'.  One of the CLEAR recommendations is for the UK government to STOP campaigning for less goals (see 7 below). As the EU starts to develop its common position this should enable it to do so without the UK arguing for less goals. Clearly the UK parliament is going to start to keep an eye on what the executive is up to in this area.  With nearly all stakeholders giving evidence against the reduction of the number of goals the executive stands nearly alone in the UK political landscape as well as in the international landscape. We can only hope now for a more constructive engagement in the process as we move forward. Below are the Conclusions from the House of Commons Environmental Audi Committee.   Conclusions  1.   The Millennium Development Goals gave insufficient attention to environme

2015 January 16 Stakeholder Preparatory Forum on Post-2015 Development Agenda: This preparatory forum will bring together Major Groups and stakeholders to share their positions and priorities for the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, which tentatively are expected to begin immediately after the Forum. Participants also will learn how they can effectively engage in the negotiation process going forward. The forum is being organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS). 19-21 Sustainable Development Goals 27-29 Financing for Development  PrepCom 1 February 8-13 Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP 3-1) - UNFCCC 9-10 President of the UN General Assembly:  High-Level Thematic Debate on Means of Implementation for a Trans