Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

Taken from the excellent newsletter Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 5 – 11 January 2026 which you can subscribe to here. 19 – 23 January | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 | Davos, Switzerland 19 – 20 January | GEF-9 Replenishment (Third Meeting) | Bonn, Germany 26 – 27 January | High-Level Preparatory Meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference | Dakar, Senegal 3 – 8 February | 12th Session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES 12) | Manchester, United Kingdom 16 – 19 February | 6th Meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Implementation | Rome, Italy 9– 15 February | 62nd Munich Security Conference  | Munich, Germany 9 – 20 March |  31st Session of the International Seabed Authority Assembly and Council (Part I)  | ISA31 | Kingston, Jamaica 23 March to 2 April | Third session of the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom III) for the entry into force of the Agreement under the UN Convention on th...

Guest blog by   Oli Brown  and   Esther Waters-Crane   originally published here. 2025—with its perfect storm of Trump 2.0 and the failure of the international community to halt the on-going devastation in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza—tore at the fragile fabric of international cooperation and the rules-based order perhaps more than any other time since the collapse of the League of Nations. The first week of 2026, with the US’s regime change in Venezuela – an intervention which is widely being seen as illegal under international law – continues the theme. The surge in right-wing populism, the return of zero-sum geopolitics, and Europe’s rush to rearm against Russian aggression have driven steep funding cuts for international development and humanitarian organizations. The dissolution of USAID under Trump was emblematic, but all major donors retrenched. Global overseas development aid has fallen by 20% since 2023, at a time when humanitarian need has never been great...

Guest reflections by Mike Barry, :Co-Founder Planeatry Alliance, Strategic Advisor, speaker, commentator on Sustainable Business Lots of good reflections on 2025 and predictions on what's to come in 2026, but here's my favourite must-read from the incomparable John Elkington . His deep reflections on the big transformative changes we need in politics, markets and business are underpinned by a very rare, very rich 50+ year global career in sustainability and an equally rare humility that allows him to re-visit and evolve his thinking, always in partnership with others, as great ideas come into harsh and unforgiving contact with the 'real world'. So, what stands out in his latest missive: ✅ 'Backlash' unpacked - 'Trump 2.0 may be the stress test that proved that the sustainability agenda is scientifically robust enough to withstand denial; economically inevitable enough to survive deregulation; and politically durable enough to regenerate after backlash. A b...

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...