Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

Statement on signing The Glasgow Tourism Declaration, from the President of  SUNx Malta , Professor Geoffrey Lipman: “ The Glasgow Tourism Declaration  is a great start to improve sector climate response, and we are pleased to be an early signatory. It moves in the right direction, but it has to go further and it has to go faster. It builds on previous UNWTO Tourism & Climate Declarations in Djerba in 2003 and Davos in 2007. All good and well intentioned, but now we need much more to help to avert the “Code Red” Climate Crisis that all UN states are facing. To fully respond to the science and the extreme weather calamities around the world we need a DASH-2-Zero if we are to cross the finishing line in time. The Glasgow goal of a Net Carbon Zero travel industry by 2050 should shift to 2030, with a hard stop of all greenhouse gas emissions (carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, and methane compounds) by 2050. This will be our focus. What is very positive is the emphasis on measurement ...

Combine harvesters crop soybeans on what was once rainforest in Brazil (Picture: Yasuyoshi Chiba) Guest blog by Philip Lymbery, Global Chief Executive, Compassion in World Farming. ‘This article first appeared in The Scotsman on 27th September 2021 ’   Transforming Food Systems is a ‘Must’ for a Liveable Future I’ll never forget seeing empty supermarket shelves during the early days of Covid, with people panic buying and scrabbling for essential supplies. Months on and my local superstore still goes for weeks without having frozen veg available. And now shortages of seasonal labour, drivers and gas have raised political questions and sparked media headlines about the possibility of ‘Christmas being cancelled’. [1] For our generation, Covid has brought an unprecedented sense of shared adversity underscoring just how fragile our way of life really is. It has exposed weaknesses in our food system, hitting production and availability. A light has been shone on inequaliti...

Guest blog by:   Ben Donaldson Head of Campaigns at the United Nations Association -UK (UNA-UK) 1 for 7 billion web site can be found here. Today, the General Assembly adopted a resolution ( A/75/ 325 ) which makes significant progress on institutionalising crucial gains to the UN Secretary-General selection process achieved in 2015/16, as well as some headway on outstanding issues identified by 1 for 7 Billion. This year we saw the key elements of the reformed process applied to the novel scenario of an incumbent Secretary-General seeking re-appointment. While the circumstances of the “one horse race” drew some criticism, the 2015-16 process was followed and 193 states had the opportunity to put forward a candidate who would be given a hearing in the General Assembly. That 192 states chose not to do so indicates a level of contentment with incumbent Mr Guterres, who has since been appointed for a second term from 2022-2026. Confusion around the admissibility of a number...

The governments of Costa Rica and Denmark, are leading the work to create the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA).   The Science is Clear Avoiding dangerous levels of climate change and delivering on the Paris Agreement require a dramatic shift in the way that we produce and use energy. Phasing out oil and gas production is a critical part of that challenge.  Recent reports from the UN Environment Programme , the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change all warn that avoiding dangerous levels of climate change and delivering the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement will require significant reductions in the production and use of oil and natural (fossil) gas.  Despite this, governments are planning to increase fossil fuel production by an average of 2 percent per year. If this trend continues, we will be producing more than double the volume by 2030 than would be consistent with the 1.5oC target in the Paris agreement.  T...

  Over two thousand academics across disciplines and from 81 countries have delivered a letter demanding a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to manage a global phase out of coal, oil and gas to governments gathering at tomorrow’s UN General Assembly.  In the open letter, the academics recognize that the burning of coal, oil and gas is the greatest contributor to climate change – responsible for almost 80% of carbon dioxide emissions since the industrial revolution. Furthermore, they note that, “air pollution caused by fossil fuels was responsible for almost 1 in 5 deaths worldwide in 2018”. Despite this, national governments, including the COP26 hosts themselves, plan to expand fossil fuel production at levels that would result in around 120 percent more emissions than what is in keeping with the Paris Agreement target of 1.5ºC of warming. Signatory Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, President of the Club of Rome, said: "The only way we will meet our Paris Agreement goals and ...

Guest  blog by Xenya (Green Stilettos Girl): known among friends as the “environmentalist in stilettos”, I have worked for major international organizations across three continents on communicating greener ways of living. Originally published here.  This blog brings together my two passions – fashion and sustainability – in a quest to put some glam into green. "After a pandemic-induced hiatus, the fashion month is back underway in New York, London, Milan and Paris, in a new ‘phygital’ format and with sustainability higher on the agenda than ever before. Has covid-19, this black swan event with profound implications for our economies and societies, changed the fashion industry for good? Could the pandemic usher a new era of sustainable fashion renaissance?" In many ways, the crisis has accelerated the changes that had been simmering for quite some time and led to paradigm shifts that will endure post-pandemic. Undoubtedly, the greatest social impact has been on the garment wor...

UNFCCC Press Release: Full NDC Synthesis Report: Some Progress, but Still a Big Concern UN Climate Change News, 17 September 2021  – UN Climate Change today published a synthesis of climate action plans as communicated in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions ( NDCs ). The NDC Synthesis report indicates that while there is a clear trend that greenhouse gas emissions are being reduced over time, nations must urgently redouble their climate efforts if they are to prevent global temperature increases beyond the Paris Agreement’s goal of well below 2C – ideally 1.5C – by the end of the century. The Synthesis Report was requested by Parties to the  Paris Agreement  to assist them in assessing the progress of climate action ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow, Scotland. The report includes information from all 191 Parties to the Paris Agreement based on their latest NDCs available in the  interim NDC registry  as at...