Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

UN Climate Change News , 31 July 2021 – Against the backdrop of extreme weather emergencies throughout the world, yesterday was an important day in our collective effort against climate change. It marked the cut-off date for the submission of new or updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to be included in a synthesis report that will be issued later this year, ahead of COP26. NDCs embody the national plans designed by each country to address climate change. Taken together, they provide the most comprehensive and accurate record of global climate action. I want to express my recognition and gratitude, as well as that of the UNFCCC as a whole, to those countries that submitted new or updated NDCs in time for their inclusion in the forthcoming synthesis report. By the cut-off date yesterday, the secretariat received new or updated NDCs from 110 Parties. This compares favourably with new or updated NDCs from 75 Parties received up to the end of December 2020 and included in the...

The second announcement that was pending is who would head the UNFCCC? The answer it seems is that of Former Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa She will take up the role  as the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will now need approval by the 11 member U.N. bureau of the UNFCCC. This was reported today by Alister Doyle of Reuters.  She was favorite once Erik Solheim was proposed by the Secretary General for Executive Director of UNEP.  She will replace Christiana Figueres, a Costa Rican who took over the UNFCCC after the disastrous Copenhagen Climate Summit and steered countries to the agreement in December last year in Paris. Espinosa is at present the Mexican Ambassador to Germany and has played an important and very well respected role in the climate negotiations.   The present Paris Agreement still needs delivering and more commitmen...