Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

PLASTICS AT UNEA Newsletter The following tet is part of the Plastics Update Issue 4 from the negotiations in Nairobi. The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) and several global environmental agreements have taken an interest in plastic pollution, recognising it as a serious and rapidly growing issue of global concern which requires an urgent and global response. Following the UNEA3 meeting in December 2017, UN Environment formed an Ad Hoc Open Ended Expert Group (AHOEEG) to present options to combat marine plastic litter and microplastics for global consideration of member states, experts, and civil society. Several representatives of the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement are in attendance for the first of two AHOEEG meetings in support of a joint call for an international legally binding agreement on plastics and plastic pollution . Referred to as “Option 3” in the content analyzed in this meeting, this position, endorsed by 6 of the 9 Major Groups and co-signed by many

Latin America and the Caribbean have the Presidency of the UN General Assembly starting this September and leading up to the High Level Review of the 2030 Agenda in September next year but not he Summit. The two candidates for the next President of the UN General Assembly are   H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador and  Ambassador Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake, Permanent Representative of Honduras to the United Nations. The next President of the UNGA will have to deal with the preparations for the first Heads of State review of the SAMOA Pathway , the  Addis Ababa Action Agenda and T ransforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development  Both have published a cv and i thought id share the key points with you the voting will take place on World Environment Day   (Beat Plastic Pollution) June 5th. María Fernanda Espinosa if elected would in an open, effective, transparent and inclusive manner, providing c

22 May, 2018 Dear SAICM Secretariat, We, the undersigned organizations, express our concern with the joint International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) – UNEP study entitled “Knowledge management and information sharing for the sound management of chemicals.” The study was sent to us as SAICM stakeholders for comments to “inform the study.” Our comments cover three areas: 1) important issues that are not part of the study; 2) issues that should be included in the study; and 3) concerns over UNEP’s private sector engagement. Important issues that are not part of the study While we understand that not every study can incorporate every relevant issue, we think it is important to note some critical SAICM issues that will apparently not be included in the study. The letter states that the SAICM Secretariat cooperates with the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) to broaden the knowledge and understanding of the number and nature of chemicals i

UNEP have a new Deputy Executive Director J oyce Msuya of Tanzania  .  She will succeed Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania. M s. Msuya has since 2017 served as Adviser to the World Bank Vice President, East Asia and Pacific Region in Washington, D.C. Ms. Msuya has since 2017 served as Adviser to the World Bank Vice President, East Asia and Pacific Region in Washington, D.C.  She brings to the position more than 20 years of extensive experience in the field of international development spanning corporate, strategy, operations, knowledge management and partnerships, with diverse assignments in Africa, Latin America and Asia regions.  She previously served as the World Bank Special Representative and Head of the World Bank Group Office in the Republic of Korea, as well as Regional Coordinator at the World Bank Institute covering East Asia and Pacific Region, based in China, and Principal Strategy Officer at the International Finance Corporation’s Manufacturing, Agribusiness & Serv

Who leads UNEP? The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is – at its core – an organization driven by member states, particularly with the setting up of United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) after Rio+20. However, stakeholders play an important role in the organization, providing guidance in the realms of policy and science . This is to assist member states in making good decisions and to work in partnership in delivering these decisions within the framework of the UNEP Programme of Work. UNEP’s functions are inherently political, and member states define such core functions of UNEP has in the normative and political convening spaces  in the programme of work. Any work with stakeholders, including the private sector, needs to be anchored in that programme of work. The hope of many member states and stakeholders is that their concerns about the recent direction of UNEP have been heard and are being acted upon by its leadership. Volvo Ocean Race: a  bad example o