Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

By Georgios Kostakos is Co-founder and Executive Director of the Brussels-based Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS). He has been a UN staff member, including with the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General, the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and field missions for political affairs and human rights. He has also worked with think tanks, academic institutions and as a consultant on global governance and sustainability, peace and resilience. Initially published by Katoikos here. Symbolic as the upcoming change of calendar year may be, as a human construct, it does encourage a fresh look at past events and the making of resolutions, or at least wishes, for the new year ahead. 2025 has been packed with turbulence, thanks to the new/old US President’s “transactional politics” at home and abroad but also events unfolding under the agency of other actors. In this article we refer to even...

📷: Kiara Worth/UNFCCC In November, Turkey clinched the bid to host COP 31, with Australia standing down  COP 31 will be held from the Nov. 9 to 20, 2026, at the EXPO area and surrounding venues in the Mediterranean city of Antalya. Australia did secure a leaders’ meeting in the Pacific, aimed at the interests of vulnerable island nations. The venue rotates among the different UN political groups. It was the turn of Western Europe and Other States, which includes both Australia and Türkiye. COP32 will be in Ethiopia, as it will be in 2027, when Africa's turn comes.  Brazil continue as the COP30 Presiency until COP31 starts in November.  Turkeiye Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Muratr Kurum will be the President of COP31. In 2006, Minister Muratr Kurum was appointed Head of the European Side Implementation Branch of the TOKİ Istanbul Implementation Department, and in 2009, becoming General Manager of Emlak Konut GYO A.Ş. In 2018,...

UNEA-7 Ministerial Declaration UNEP/EA.7/HLS.1  - Ministerial declaration UNEA-7 Resolutions UNEP/EA.7/Res.1  - Resolution on accelerating global actions to promote the climate resilience of coral reefs UNEP/EA.7/Res.2  - Resolution on promoting sustainable solutions through sport for a resilient planet UNEP/EA.7/Res.3  - Resolution on strengthening international cooperation on the environmentally sound management of minerals and metals UNEP/EA.7/Res.4  - Resolution on strengthening the global response to the massive influx of sargassum seaweed blooms UNEP/EA.7/Res.5  - Resolution on promoting synergies, cooperation or collaboration for national implementation of multilateral environmental agreements and other relevant environmental instruments UNEP/EA.7/Res.6  - Resolution on enhancing the meaningful participation of youth in Environmental Processes and on environmental education UNEP/EA.7/Res.7  - Resolution on strengthening the global managemen...

A Year in Review High-Level Dialogue UNEA 7 2025 has been a tough year for multilateralism, where, in many of the forums I have been operating in, we have mostly been trying to defend the gains we have made over the past 10 years. My political activities for this year have focused on multilateral environmental agreements, nitrogen, and plastics. As one of my hobbies is writing, I have continued collaborating with Chris Spence on articles and another book. The publication of Environmental Lobbying at the UN is a replacement of the 2004 book How to Lobby at Inter-governmental meetings. It is richer, and we hope it is a must for anyone working as a stakeholder in the intergovernmental arena. Chris and I are nearly ready to submit a proposal for a new book to our wonderful publisher, Routledge. If they accept, it will come out in June 2027. I have just finished attending the seventh United Nations Environment Assembly. January Handed in the manuscript for Environmental Lobbying...

Today’s biggest challenges of climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, desertification and land degradation, which are interconnected and threaten the well-being of humanity and planet are too complex for any one actor to solve alone. Accelerating sustainable solutions and effective responses for a safer and more resilient planet and catalyzing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals requires all hands-on deck. It requires different sectors and actors to work together in an integrated manner.  Watch here. In this regard, multistakeholder partnerships are not optional but essential for addressing today’s urgent and interlinked environmental challenges. Cross-sector collaboration is therefore crucial for tackling environmental challenges by aligning goals across sectors, sharing knowledge, expertise, technologies, coalescing of local needs and interests, and pooling resources. The dialogue will explore how inclusive partnerships can address the root cause of environ...

   If you have trouble reading this e-mail, please click here .    UNEA-7 CPR UNEP Inside UNEA   Latest news from the Governing Bodies of UNEP   6 December 2025 ...