Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

I was so pleased to see that UNC and the work of the Water Institute were recognized by The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. You can explore all the SDGs and which university is leading the work in which country. As some of you know it is where I am based as an Adjunct Professor at the Water Institute where we have organized the 2014 and  2018 Nexus Conferences. This ranking been made possible by the work of Jamir Bartram the former head of WI and now his successor the amazing Aaron Salzberg former U.S. Department of State lead advisor on international water issues and the first Special Coordinator for Water in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We use carefully calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons across three broa...

In 2020 and 2021 alone, developing countries’ repayments on their public external debt alone will soar to between $2.6 trillion and $3.4 trillion  Calls for international solidarity have so far delivered little tangible support  An international body is needed to oversee developing country debt relief programmes Geneva, 23 April 2020 – The UN trade and development body today set out urgent measures needed to head off a looming debt disaster in developing countries reeling from the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. UNCTAD released a report that calls for a global debt deal for the developing world . It underlines the vital need for decisive action to provide substantive debt relief to developing countries to free up sorely needed resources to respond to the raging pandemic. On 30 March, UNCTAD called for a $2.5 trillion coronavirus crisis package for developing countries. Even prior to the COVID-19 crisis, many of these countries faced high and risin...

BlackRock, Inc . is an American global investment management corporation based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $7.4 trillion in assets under management as of end-Q4 2019.[3] BlackRock operates globally with 70 offices in 30 countries and clients in 100 countries.[4] Due to its power and the sheer size and scope of its financial assets and activities, BlackRock has been called the world's largest shadow bank. Dear CEO, As an asset manager, BlackRock invests on behalf of others, and I am writing to you as an advisor and fiduciary to these clients. The money we manage is not our own. It belongs to people in dozens of countries trying to finance long-term goals like retirement. And we have a deep responsibility to these institutions and individuals – who are shareholders in your company and thousands of others – to promote long-term value. C...

April 22, 2020 marks 50 years of Earth Day. The first Earth Day sparked the passage in the U.S. of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts, and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. The urgency has never been greater, and the stakes have never been higher – we are now in an environmental emergency and a climate breakdown. We have two crises: One is the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The other is a slowly building disaster for our climate. To meet this moment, we must build the largest, most diverse online mobilization in history in defense of the environment . Our world needs a united response for bold action. On Earth Day 2020, we say enough is enough. We say we believe in science. We say that everyone can make a difference. We say that the protection of our planet and the wellbeing of the people who live upon it are the top priorities . On Earth Day 2020, we say that we’re committing to vote , we’re registering to vote and we’re showin...