Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

Guest blog by Andrew Simms is an author, analyst, and campaigner. the original article can be found here on the New Weather Institute.

His several books include The New Economics, Ecological Debt: Global Warming & the Wealth of Nations, Tescopoly: How One Shop Came Out on Top and Why it Matters, Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth? and most recently Cancel the Apocalypse: The New Path to prosperity.

Andrew contributes to the Guardian and BBC, and co-founded the New Weather Institute
Extinction Rebellion held a People’s Assembly in Parliament to identify new priorities for each government department, this is an adapted from Andrew Simms’ short speech on the challenge to the Treasury

When he led the Treasury as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown used a standard joke to warm up the audience at the start of his speeches. He’d say, there are two types of Chancellor – those who fail and those who get out in time. It usually got an indulgent laugh, but the best entertainment was wat…

Guest blog by Nick O'Connor of Exponential Investor subscribe here
Nick O'Connor is the publisher of Southbank Investment Research, one of Britain's leading publishers of independent financial advice and alternative ideas. Southbank Investment Research is one of The Agora Companies, a global network of private publishing companies with roots going back to 1978.After becoming Associate Publisher in 2015, Nick was instrumental in exposing the state’s plans to abolish cash – publishing The War on Cash with Tim Price, and personally bringing a petition with more than 10,000 signatures to Parliament.


Here’s a prediction for you: Greta Thunberg is creating three of the world’s most important future trends. Simultaneously. And largely without meaning to.

Trend one, her movement will (intentionally) create the world’s first mainstream global political movement. A cross-border political party. The kids skipping school today will make up its voter base. They’ll probably have time on …

Guest blog by Alistair Scrutton and Kelsey Simpkins of Future Earth

Three of the world’s foremost scientists will co-chair a commission of leading international experts to identify risks and develop a coherent suite of scientific targets to protect Earth’s life support systems.

Johan Rockström, Joyeeta Gupta, and Dahe Qin will co-chair the Earth Commission, comprising an initial 19 members, announced today by the international research organization Future Earth.

The group will begin immediately – and complete by 2021 – a high-level synthesis of scientific knowledge on the biophysical processes that regulate Earth’s stability and targets to ensure this stability. The commission will also explore social transformations required for sustainable development to reach these targets.

The goal, ultimately, is to translate these into tangible science-based targets for Earth, specifically tailored to cities and companies. This translational work will be undertaken by a new Science Based Target…

By Mariam Khalil, BA student, HEC - Montreal.

“We have been born into this world and we have to live with this crisis, and our children and our grandchildren. We are facing the greatest existential crisis humanity has ever faced. And yet it has been ignored." these are the words of Greta Thunberg, who led today a march, I took part in, in Montreal as part of the global youth mobilisation for climate and for the future of our planet.

The climate crisis is an emergency – we want everyone to start acting like it. We demand climate justice for everyone.  Our hotter planet is already hurting millions of people. If we don’t act now to transition fairly and swiftly away from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy for all, the injustice of the climate crisis will only get worse.

We need to act right now to stop burning fossil fuels and ensure a rapid energy revolution with equity, reparations and climate justice at its heart. Therefore, and in the framework of HEC humanitarian week, I too…

Zaheer Fakir -  written as a global citizen and sustainable development practitioner

Disclaimer: These points are merely my observations and in no way whatsoever am I passing any judgment as to whether they are good or bad. Its is for you to draw your own conclusions.

My observations are:



Taxation, Debt, blended finance, capital markets, Bankers and Capitalist are the climate change Messiahs.Grant's and Development assistance are becoming threatened and rare species while loans and other non-grant instruments are proliferating at scale.The historical sinners absolve themselves of their original sin and the victims of their actions are being made responsible to share their burden and build their resilience.The notion of vulnerability has been incentivised, so much so that it has become akin to cannibalism in a time of climate finance famine. The branches and leaves believe they are more vulnerable than their roots because they believe that they are the only ones exposed to the elemen…