Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

 Guest blog b y Nigel Topping, UN High-Level ClimateAction Champion for COP26  A world driven by hydrocarbons is a more conflict driven world. The adoption of the  Versailles Declaration  – where EU Member States asked the Commission to prepare a detailed plan by the end of May to cut gas dependency – is a signal that this crisis can and must accelerate, rather than derail, the march towards cheaper, more secure, clean energy. The reasons for this are well known but have become blurred recently amid some calls to ramp up oil and gas exploration and production to fill the gap left by Russia. Such calls mistake a short-term political reflex with the structural changes driving the long-term direction of travel. As the  International Energy Agency  has made clear, responses to the emerging energy crisis do not need to – and indeed should not – compromise our international climate goals, which means no new oil and gas exploration and development this ce...

Guest blog:  by  Mark D  Wolf:  Mark is a sustainability consultant, sustainability career coach and executive coach who works with leaders to integrate sustainability into business strategy, operations, and culture. He is also the Founder & Co-Lead of the NYC Chapter of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), the largest global professional association for leaders across the sustainability sector.  He recently co-authored  Thriving in the New Business Environment, Why Supply Chain Matters  and has been published in the  Journal of Sustainable Banking and Finance . Last time I wrote about my 22 sustainability predictions for 2022. Today I will share my thinking about recent events that have me both inspired and confused on the response to ‘code red’ alarm sounded in the most recent IPCC report. I am thinking about COP26 Glasgow, Larry Fink’s annual letter  to CEOs and GreenBiz’s  Sta...

Guest blog by Eric Usher Head UNEP Finance Initiative.  Originally published here.   Earlier this week I   wrote   about the progress being made by the signatories to the UN      Principles for Responsible Banking as they work to put sustainability front and centre of their businesses. I described the shift in the industry from taking a uniquely risk-based approach to sustainability integration, to one that is more focused on aligning with the needs of society, including particularly the climate emergency. In this second blog, I will focus on some of the pushback that these banks and other financial institutions are seeing as they scale up their sustainability engagements. With COP26 just over a week away, the pressure for action is rising along with the temperature. And some of the pressure is focused inwards, a civil war of sorts whereby some in the climate community are highly critical of the actions being taking by a number of financial i...

Guest blog by Yunus Arikan   Director of Global Advocacy ICLEI World Secretariat.  ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network working with more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 125+ countries, we influence sustainability policy and drive local action for low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development.  A scenario for a realistic expectation of a hybrid (in-person and virtual) COP26  in Glasgow envisages that COP26 credentials may be delivered to Ambassadors in the UK, the Opening Plenary on 31 October Sunday can enable to pass the baton of COP Presidency from Chile to UK, the Heads of Summit +Stakeholder (Race-To-Zero and/or Race-To-Resilience or others) Roundtable Sessions on 1-2 November can be the moments to announce commitments/updates. After these 3 days of in-person meetings, the COP26 Presidency can suspend negotiations, but action events can contin...

 First published on IPS News on the 1st of April 2021  and mentioned in POLITICO Global Translations newsletter on the 5th of April 2021.  With uncertainties over face-to-face meetings resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors consider the case for postponing the Climate Summit in Glasgow again and ask how, if it does proceed, we can improve its chances of success? By Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss and Chris Spence Among the COVID-19 pandemic’s many damaging impacts, could a halt to international progress on environmental issues be added to the list? A year ago, the Glasgow Climate Summit—originally scheduled for late 2020—was postponed to 2021, along with its preparatory meetings. This wasn’t the only critical intergovernmental process impacted. For instance, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the U.N. treaty on the high seas were also moved. With uncertainty over travel and safety continuing into 2021, the postponement of meetings has continued, wi...

Preparing For the Glasgow 2020 Climate Summit article 1: Before handing over to the Guest blog from Edward Davey I just wanted to make a comment on UK preparedness for the Glasgow Climate COP. The only reason I went back to the UK to stand in the UK election in December was because of my deep concerns over UK preparedness for the Glasgow COP.  The UK needs a huge change in the way they are preparing for Glasgow and I was about to write a blog on this here is Edward Davey's take. Guest blogger: Edward Davey  Director, Geographic Deep Dives, Food And Land Use Coalition, World Resources Institute. Prior to joining WRI, Edward was Senior Programme Manager at The Prince of Wales' International Sustainability Unit, where he co-led a number of international initiatives on REDD+, zero-deforestation commodity supply chains, forest landscape restoration and climate change. Prior to the ISU, he served as Lead Adviser on Environment in the Colombian Presidency's International ...