Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

Opening Remarks at the Water Institute Water and Health Conference   Where Science Meets Policy  by   Dr. Aaron Salzberg    Director of the Water Institute Don and Jennifer Holzworth Distinguished Professor Gillings School of Global Public Health University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill For many of us in the global North, it’s probably pretty easy as we connect from the comfort of our homes or offices; but for some of you in the south, we know you’ve been scrambling out at odd hours to find a place with good wifi so you can watch or listen, perhaps on your phone. We appreciate the special effort that you’ve made to join us and to be part of the conference. And we want to acknowledge that we know that the way in which we are holding our discussion about systemic inequalities is itself an example of a systemic inequality. Those of you that know our conference, know that we like to use these plenaries to challenge ourselves - to review the evidence, stimulate critical thinking, and try

Guest blog reproduced from ISSP by  Irena Zubcevic *, M.Sc. Chief, Intergovernmental Policy and Review Branch Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Member of ISSP. * The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. "Today we have a surplus of multilateral challenges and a deficit of multilateral solutions". António Guterres, UN Secretary-General at the marking of the75th Anniversary of the United Nations, 21 September 2020 It is important to put this blog in today’s context where we are battling the simultaneous challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequalities. The 75th anniversary of the United Nations that was celebrated last month on September 21st could not have come at a better time as it reaffirmed the United Nations as the only global organization that can

19th October 2020 Colombo, Sri Lanka Editor-in-Chief and Lead Author, Uchita de Zoysa  Domestic resource mobilisation is the responsibility of all countries committed towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The United Nations (UN) has estimated that US$5 trillion to US$7 trillion per year is needed between 2015 and 2030 to achieve the SDGs globally, and $3.3 trillion to $4.5 trillion per year in developing countries. Estimates also show that achieving the SDGs could open up US$ 12 trillion of market opportunities and create 380 million new jobs, and that action on climate change would result in savings of about US$ 26 trillion by 2030. Five years into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), Sri Lanka is yet to estimate its financial commitment towards implementing the SDGs and has not assessed its potential gains from such an investment. Further, the country is yet to align its national economic policies, financial systems and investment strate

  We’ve come to the end of what could be one of the strangest but most historic UN General Assemblies ever. Marking 75 years since the UN was founded and five years since the Global Goals were agreed it was an opportunity to focus on the action we need if we are to make the Goals happen. We founded Project Everyone five years ago as the SDGs were agreed. Since then there’s been a huge swell of momentum but we are still off track to achieving them and as the excellent Goalkeepers 2020 report from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation shows, COVID is setting back progress even further. That’s why we need global cooperation and action more than ever.         BUT we should be optimistic that if we work together we can make them happen. Here’s some of the things we’ve been part of that we hope will inspire you!

 Guest blog by Neil Kitching:  a geographer who works as an Energy Specialist for a public agency in Scotland.   His role is to support innovation and investment by businesses in renewable and low carbon heat and water solutions.   The Sustainable Development Goals are a comprehensive package of targets to make the planet greener, to improve equality and to enhance our lives.   However, most politicians and pressure groups only have the capacity to focus on one major issue.   I have written my first book, Carbon Choices, on the common-sense solutions to our climate and nature crises.   What is interesting is that when I look at the book in relation to the 17 sustainable development goals I find that my book touches on them all.   Maybe that is the geographer in me coming to the fore – jack of all trades, but master of none. Clearly ‘climate action’ and ‘clean energy’ is at the core of the book.   We need to tax fossil fuels, subsidise new greener technology and support developing c

N EW YORK, Oct 14 2020 (IPS)  -   As we prepare to celebrate the 75 th  anniversary of the  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), it is time to recognise the role of working animals in livelihood systems, addressing climate change and in human health, which has been overlooked for too long. The  Working Animal Alliance  seeks to change this.  As we seek cost-effective and innovative solutions to help achieve the SDG’s, we would do well to recognise that working horses, donkeys and mules have been instrumental in the development and maintenance of civilization for millennia. While they may be considered ‘old technology’ by some, they remain a versatile green power source. Not many people know that more than 100 million working animals continue to sustain the livelihoods of more than 600 million people, many of them at most risk of being left behind. (read the rest of the article here)

Excellencies, Colleagues, Friends, The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives and economies around the globe. The consequences for low- and middle-income countries, in particular, have been devastating.  And for many communities around the world, the growing impacts of climate change have compounded their hardship.  We are entering a new era of climate disruption. Yet, this moment also presents us with a unique opportunity to chart a new path.  The choices we make today will determine the course of the next 30 years.  The recovery from the pandemic must be an opportunity to create jobs, close the gender gap and reduce inequalities.  It must also put us on track to meet our climate targets.  Emissions need to fall sharply and permanently, by about 8 per cent every year over the next decade.  We must achieve net-zero emissions globally by 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C degrees. We need all hands-on deck now.  I see four priorities. First, we must prioritize investments that

Guest blog by Yunus Arikan: ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability  The United Nations is celebrating its 75 th  anniversary in 2020, under the shadows of a once-in-a-century pandemic, serious challenges to multilateralism, and life-threatening climate and biodiversity emergencies. Due to the global pandemic, these celebrations will be taking place online, but the virtual forum by no means reduces the significance of processes and decisions that will take place in 2020. ICLEI – representing our network of over 1,750 local governments – contributed to the  response of the Global Task Force of Local and Regional Governments to the UN75 , with its commitment to  accelerate localization of the Decade for Sustainability Action . In order to ensure sustainability of the world in 2045 – the 100 th  year of the United Nations – ICLEI is calling for an inclusive new generation of multilateralism that addresses COVID-19 pandemic, responds to climate emergency and adopts a new deal for nature