Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

Draft resolution for the Organization of the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda Last week the Ambassadors of Papua New Guinea and Denmark released their draft resolution and it is worth all stakeholders taking an interest in this NOW. So far the work on the Sustainable Development Goals has had its meetings very well signposted 13 of them clearly announced so that civil servants from capitals and stakeholders can plan to attend. The meetings have been conducted with the active involvement of Major Groups and other stakeholders. They have been integrated into the meetings making their own inputs to the discussion. What the Ambassadors have put forward does not seem to meet the above participation of stakeholders and possibly even civil servants and experts from capitals. Stakeholders First the resolution does not build on the approach from Rio in 1992 to the SDG OWG which was based on Major Groups and other stakeholders . It ...

On reflection last week  was a good SDG OWG meeting. It has been a long journey from Solo Indonesia in July 2011 when Colombia and Guatemala first placed on the table the idea of Sustainable Development Goals.  The move from 17 to 15 Goals did not make everyone happy but most countries went along though the last SDG OWG will probably operate still as 17. The chairs have done excellent work in taking countries with them and most stakeholders as they shave started to streamline the text. I do think that the call by some countries to start this process one SDG OWG earlier would have helped but that was their call. I have been following a number of issues including animals, human settlements and governance and they all had a good showing last week. Opposition to a human settlements goal had been led by the UK - as it wasnt in the High Level Panel Report - was silent in the room. This is good news and means that as a goal it joins the core group which doesn't have any objection...

This is THE event for stakeholders to attend if they are engaged in the 2015 process on the Sustainable Development Goals or the climate change process. Following the release of the reports of the Open Working Group and the Experts Committee on SD Financing this summer, we invite you to prepare for the 65th Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference on "2015 and Beyond: Our Action Agenda" taking place at UN HQ (NY), 27-29 August 2014 . The Conference will provide an opportunity for civil society, international networks and activists to develop an “Action Agenda” to mobilize messaging, advocacy strategies, partnerships and accountability frameworks in the lead up to the start of the intergovernmental negotiations at the beginning of the 69th session of the General Assembly for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, due to culminate at a Summit in September 2015. The Conference will also be an important milestone ahead of the Secretary-General’s September 2014 Climate Summit...

Post 2015: Success or Failure? It’s up to you…. By Felix Dodds From the first time that Colombia proposed the idea of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in July 2011, the development Ministries and many development NGOs have initially opposed or reluctantly come on board.  But now with the decision on the 25 th of December for a one track approach that attitude will need to change. The new goals developed over the next 2 years up to the Summit in 2015 will be universal unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) agreed in 2000 which only dealt with developing countries. The challenges for the next period will have dual focus of addressing the eradication of poverty and sustainable development. There will be in addition to the Sustainable Development Goals Open Working Group sessions (SDG OWG) over the next year some additional meetings organized by the President of the General Assemblies Office to even more address some of the key thematic areas. The last mee...

The Nexus Conference 2014 (3-7 March) is  gaining  pace Liz Thompson former Barbados Energy and Environment Minister is a confirmed speaker with Adnan Amin  Director General of IRENA and expect additional announcements in the next week.  The agenda was announced a few weeks ago and will have 8 plenary sessions and Nexus dating :-) To help the Advisory Board and Secretariat have come up with some areas that we think would be interesting abstract areas - these are only suggestions but if you are doing work in these areas do submit by November 1st details on how are on the Conference web site. Abstract suggested areas These are suggested areas for possible abstracts. They do not represent what will be chosen but areas that we will be looking at next year in the future. The nexus approach requires systemic thinking and a quest for integrated solutions to guide our decision-making about resource use and development and move to a more sustainable planet...

The summer has been a great time to start filling out what the agenda for the Nexus 2014: Climate-Water-Food-Energy Conference (3-7th March in Chapel Hill North Carolina). We have our first confirmed speaker the Adnan Amin the Executive Director of the International Renewable Energy Authority (IRENA). For those who do not know Adnan he has made considerable contribution to sustainable development over a career that has seen him direct UNEPs New York operations, head the secretariat for the UN Secretary Generals’ High Level Panel on System Wide Coherence which was one of the most successful Panels of the last two years and head the secretariat for the UN Secretary Generals Chief Executive Board (UN Cabinet). “In an increasingly resource-constrained world, there is a compelling case for decision makers to consider the interconnections between water, energy, food and climate – the Nexus. The nexus perspective increases the understanding of these interdepende...

As the outcome from Rio+20 continues to have impact long after the delegates have left Rio Central. Two weeks ago we saw the agreement on the setting up of the High Level Political Forum operating under the same rules as the old CSD for stakeholder engagement. The ongoing work of the Sustainable Development Goals Open Working Group and now announced the membership for the I ntergovernmental Committee of Experts in Sustainable Development Financing . The latest is the follow through on “85(k) strengthen the science-policy interface through review of documentation bringing together dispersed information and assessments, including in the form of a global sustainable development report, building on existing assessments; The Division for Sustainable Development within the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs are in the process of producing the first Global Sustainable Development Report. They have also opened it for input: “ Social and natural scientists , here is you...

I find myself in London on my way to Geneva for the launch of the Katerva Sustainability Awards and of course sitting in a café to get away from the London weather. Which by the way reminds me so well why I left London to escape the dark, dreary and rainy days. As I opened my morning’s emails I find two very important emails. The first is the publishing of the much-awaited Canadian Government’s Policy Horizon’s team MetaScan 2: Building Resilience in the Transition to a Digital Economy and a Networked Society Report. The second, also much awaited, is the result of the outcome from Rio+20, to negotiate the setting up of a UN High Level Political Forum, this is to replace the dysfunctional UN Commission on Sustainable Development, and as of yesterday has now been completed. Turning first to the MetaScan 2 Report. I am huge fan of the work of the Policy Horizon foresight team  within the Government of Canada. They have a mandate: “to help anticipate emerging pol...