Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

(taken from UN website) With the COVID-19 pandemic having disrupted plans to hold the annual international UN climate meeting - known as the COP - this year, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom have announced that they will instead co-host a “landmark global event” on 12 December, the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. The event is being dubbed “the sprint to Glasgow” by the UN. Before the   COVID-19   pandemic hit, the UK was slated to host this year’s COP in the Scottish City. The Summit is now scheduled to take place a year later, in November 2021. The December event will be held amid signs that the world is off-track to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and that a carbon-free economy is long overdue. “The climate emergency is fully upon us, and we have no time to waste, Mr. Guterres said in a statement. “The answer to our existential crisis is swift, decisive, scaled up acti

The discussion was based on two "zero draft" proposals -- a  new Narrative of Hope  and a  Global Resilience Council  -- and the  just-published article  by Georgios Kostakosa nd Richard, Harris  Here is my response to the papers Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposal. I would also like to say at the beginning that these proposals are important to expand the conversation that is needed to end up with something stronger than what we have today … what we have i s clearly not fit for purpose . So I will make three comments to add to the debate: We operate in the real world of 2020 and what is possible is defined by those in power today and their agenda. There are times when after enormous work advancements can be made such as the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement. Remember it took 5 years from Paula Cab all ero introduction of the idea of the SDGs in Solo Indonesia in July 2011 for the 2030 Agenda to be agreed upon.   Important to being abl

This Friday, 25th September, at 10am EST, we will launch our Climate Friendly Travel Registry for 2050 Climate Neutral & Sustainability Ambitions in partnership with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA). It is a virtual event delivered during Climate Week NYC and in the side-lines of UN General Assembly, and we would like to invite you to join us. The idea of a Climate Neutral 2050 Ambitions Registry was built into the Paris 2015 Agreement, as a way for Parties to transparently declare and progressively increase their Carbon reduction ambitions through 2050, so as to secure global temperature stabilized at tolerable levels for human survival. As a transformation catalyst this Registry will be open to all Travel & Tourism companies and communities, whether they have created a 2050 Carbon Neutral Ambition yet. It will cover transport, hospitality, travel services and infrastructure providers - from the smallest to the

September, 2020 Open letter: To Heads of Government, United Nations Member States  A Time for Renewal: Calling for a Strengthened Multilateral System  Excellencies, As former ministers of government and United Nations officials, we are deeply concerned that the institutional framework of global governance, with the United Nations at its core, must do more to provide the guidance, leadership and decisions required to ensure human safety, security and sustainable development in our interdependent world.  From climate change to human rights, gender and racial equality, and from sustainable development to international peace and security – the international community should honor its commitments to the UN’s founding Charter, Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement. There is a crying need for a stronger, more accountable, inclusive multilateral system that encompasses renewed intergovernmental initiatives with the full participation of civil society and key stakeholders.  COVID-19 has underscor

Reflection by Felix Dodds: Biliana was a force of nature in the Ocean Community someone who I had the pleasure to work with on a number of Ocean related conferences that Stakeholder Forum engaged in.  I met Biliana in the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 when most people were not seeing the importance of work on oceans. Biliana was a voice for those who were passionate about ocean issues she also brought people together. Her organization of the Global Forums  on Oceans  and in particular the one in 2012 complemented the Monocca Oceans conference in 2011 and helped move oceans up the political agenda for Rio+20. This gave it the prominence that helped secure a t Rio +20, that governments committed themselves:  "to address, on an urgent basis [...] the issue of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, including by taking a decision on the development of an international instrument under th

Stakeholder Forum’s First sdg2030 Series Report – The Future of the High-level Political Forum: Fit for Purpose? On Monday, 14 September 2020, Stakeholder Forum launched the first in its  sdg2030 Series  reports:  The Future of the High-level Political Forum – Fit for Purpose? The future of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) has been a matter of debate since it was created out of Rio+20, and before the negotiations for the Sustainable Development Goals. The resolution establishing the HLPF ( UNGA resolution A/67/L.72 , adopted on 9 July 2013) agreed to review it, and one such review was due 2020.  This has now been moved to the autumn of 2021. This report, a summary of the ideas presented during the 13 July 2020 ‘Pop-up Side Event’ at the 2020 HLPF: ‘ Lessons from the Proposal for a Sustainable Development Council for the UN General Assembly (from Rio+20) for the Future of the High-level Political Forum,’  captures the inputs from th

  The 2020 UNC Water and Health Conference Registration is Live! Dear Water Institute partner, Registration for the 2020 UNC Water and Health Conference: Science, Policy, and Practice is now open!  For the first time, we are going virtual and registration is free. Find out how to sponsor  here. Register here! The UNC Water and Health Conference: Science, Policy and Practice will be held October 26 – 30, 2020 virtually from the comfort of your home or office. The conference will explore drinking water supply, sanitation, hygiene and water resources in both developing and developed countries with a public health/COVID-19 emphasis.    You will receive a confirmation email upon registering, and we will send conference updates to the email that you use on the registration form. Please contact  waterinstitute@unc.edu  with any questions.  See you in October,  The Water Institute Team 

Monday, 14 September at 9:00 AM New York time for a 30-minute Stakeholder Forum Webinar to announce the publication of our first sdg2030 Series report:   The Future of the High-level Political Forum - Fit for Purpose?   The future of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) has been a matter of debate since it was created out of Rio+20, and before the negotiations for the Sustainable Development Goals. The resolution establishing the HLPF agreed to a review of it in 2020. This has now been moved to the autumn of 2021. With this webinar, Stakeholder Forum launches a summary document outlining the ideas presented during the 13 July 2020 'Pop-up Side Event' at the 2020 HLPF: 'Lessons from the Proposal for a Sustainable Development Council for the UN General Assembly (from Rio+20) for the Future of the High-level Political Forum.' The report captures the inputs from the speakers and respondents from the ‘Pop-Up’ event, all