Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

ENGLISH: Save the Date – 13 October 2022, 9 AM to 11 AM EDT (New York) / 3 PM to 5 PM CEST (Brussels) / 4 PM to 6 PM EAT (Nairobi) REGISTER NOW Dear Colleagues, 50 years of struggle to safeguard the environment, 50 years of environmental accomplishments, and we’ve yet to reach our goal for a world with a safe, sound, and healthy environment. Though we can’t deny there has been some progress. On two occasions this year, the United Nations organized commemorations to mark these fifty years: UNEP@50 in March to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UN Environment Programme, and Stockholm+50 in June to commemorate the 50 years since the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, which made the environment a pressing global issue for the first time. They reminded the global community of the original efforts to establish a common agenda to protect and preserve our precious planet. Please join us on October 13th at 9 AM New York time, as we convene to l...

  “Bigger than BlackRock: Challenging UN Corporate Partnerships” Feminist economic justice must outweigh investment profits for UN Women   On 23 August 2022, the feminists behind #BlockBlackRock met with UN Women representatives to express concerns about the announced partnership with the world’s largest investment firm, BlackRock, and with the broader approach to corporate partnerships.   During this meeting, Lopa Banerjee, Director of the Civil Society Division at UN Women, and other UN Women representatives stated that they heard the concerns and have terminated the partnership with BlackRock. Previous to this meeting, both UN Women Deputy Directors met with members of the Economic Justice and Rights Action Coalition in response to their letter on the BlackRock MoU, which asked for the MoU to be made public. The UN Women Executive Director, who has been in her role for one year, has not met with civil society or media on this matter.   This decisio...

Guest blog originally published on the International Science Council web site. As climate change accelerates the devastation of disaster in populated environments, government leaders across the world are figuring out how to best mitigate these impacts before they happen. First, they must assess who the most vulnerable groups are in their population. Our research has revealed the surprising fact that the United Nations currently does not have a global vulnerability index. Even though vulnerability is being discussed in different UN fora, there is concern that if the UN does not make efforts to unify and coordinate these discussions, it may create confusion that will not adequately address the needs of the most vulnerable populations. In this blog we discuss current policies in place, with recommendations for improvement in order to identify the most vulnerable groups on a global and regional level, which could then inform the local level. There are currently vulnerability indices in pla...

With less than two months remaining before the next climate summit—COP27—begins in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Felix Dodds and Chris Spence assess what needs to happen for it to be judged a success. Published originally on Inter Press Service here Preparations for COP27 in November are proceeding apace and we are now well past the halfway mark between the preparatory meetings in June in Bonn and the start of the summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The agenda for Sharm El-Sheikh is complex and challenging. Furthermore, the meeting is taking place during a time of international turmoil. So, what are the factors influencing whether Sharm El-Sheikh can be a success? And what, exactly, does COP27 need to deliver? Reasons for Optimism Those looking for positive signs can name several. For a start, the recent passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US dedicated some $369 billion for climate and energy action—the largest investment in US history for tackling climate change. This wi...

  UN 2023 Water Conference   Second Global Online Stakeholder Consultation   Contribute your inputs on the themes proposed by the co-hosts for the UN 2023 Water Conference interactive dialogues!   Deadline: 30 September 2022   Add your inputs here : bit.ly/Input2023WaterConference   Background On 21 December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted  resolution 71/222  to declare 2018-2028 as  International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” . The objectives of the Decade include greater focus on the sustainable development and integrated management of water resources for the achievement of social, economic and environmental objectives and on the implementation and promotion of related programmes and projects, as well as on the furtherance of cooperation and partnership at all levels in order to help to achieve internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including those contained in the 2030 Agen...