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Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy: Profiles in Courage

September 2013

The final meeting of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development happened on the 20th of September. I think I may be the only person to have attended all the 20 CSD meetings and preparatory meetings over the 20 years.

(photo ENB with Chris Whaley UK Government)

What was particularly rewarding was the video of that was played for governments on the last twenty years which ended with a quote of mine being read out by nine year old Aila Ronald.

"The next generation need not become a generation of crisis, it need not be a generation of fear, it could be a generation of hope and solidarity. Lets innovate have vision and courage to bring this reality to every woman, man and child in the world." Felix Dodds

We also saw the first meeting of the High Level Political Forum which replaces the CSD and every 4 years will be at Heads of State level. A great first meeting.

The UNGA also agreed to one path for the new development goals you can read my comments at the ANPED newsletter SWITCH

Finally we saw the launch of Communitas - Coalition for Sustainable Cities and Regions in the new UN Development Agenda which I have the pleasure of being Advisor to as they seek a Sustainable Development Goal on urbanization and human settlements.

Created on 12 October 2013.

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MY TWEETS

Comments about Felix

"Felix has been a true global leader, a unique person with the capacity to define global issues, based on an in-depth understanding of the concerns and priorities of stakeholders at all levels. Such a breath of vision is rare, and we feel privileged to have been able to work so closely with Felix throughout the Rio+20 process."

Paula Caballero Gomez, Director, Directorate of Economic, Social and Environmental of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Columbia

“It takes a special kind of stamina to survive international processes and negotiations. It takes a very special person to make sense of it all and to help others do the same. And it takes a very, very special person to have fun at the same time. Meet Felix Dodds - a very, very special person.”

Rachel Kyte, Vice President of Sustainable Development, World Bank

"Felix is an extremely knowledgeable writer, expert, author, blogger provocateur on all things to do with sustainable development. I learned a huge amount from Felix on my contribution to the Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals books."

Ambassador David Donoghue

"Felix has the great ability to look beyond the obvious, piercing foresight to identify the challenges of the future and above all the courage of conviction to suggest solutions that question conventional wisdom. "

Navid Hanif, Director, Strategic Division, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Felix is a genius for convincing the most skeptical legislator of the eminent reasonableness of the sustainable development case"

Rt Hon John Gummer MP former Secretary of State for the Environment

“Felix has been a passionate campaigner for people’s involvement in the central challenges of our time – how to balance our consumption of natural resources with the earth’s capacity, at the same time as addressing global inequality and poverty. He has enormously enriched the global intellectual debate on sustainability issues, and has been a “thought leader” of his age.”

Crispian Olver, Former South African Director General Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

"There is hardly anyone who knows the international sustainable development scene better than Felix Dodds. A lot of progress that has been achieved over the past 20 years could not have been achieved without his engagement and input and his ability to bring together key actors, civil society, governments and international organization for the sake of our environment."

Alexander Juras, Chief Major Groups, and Stakeholders UNEP

"Felix Dodds was one of those and I am deeply grateful to him for his decades of work in and for the UN. Felix was also a true believer in the idea of sustainable development and helped to conceptualize it in the many things he wrote and edited. "

Nitin Desai former UN Secretary General of WSSD

"Rumor has it that there's more consensus on Felix's achievements than on the reality of human-induced climate change."

Dirk-Jan Verdonk, WSPA Programme Manager

"The work done by Felix to promote the sustainability agenda and the crucial role of the UN system as well as the broad involvement of civil society goes far beyond what one could expect from one individual."

Johan Kuylenstierna Executive Director Stockholm Environment Institute

Felix Dodds deserves high respect and admiration for his unswerving and dedicated efforts as one of the key leaders of the global NGO movement for sustainable development for several decades."

Lars Goran Engfeldt, Former Environment Ambassador of Sweden

"Felix Dodds took the torch of global governance/NGO agenda setting and decision making from Chip Lindner's hand in 2000 and then damn near single-handedly spread its light over the world. Felix carved out the path to Rio+20 when nobody else gave a damn. "

Don Edwards, Justice and Sustainability Associates

"Felix Dodds has made a difference; in UN deliberations on sustainability, there are few who can say as much."

David Hales, Former Assistant Secretary at the USAID

"Felix is a rock on which the Stakeholder Forum built a generation of influence, initiatives, responding campaigns and successes."

Jean Pierre Thebault, Ambassador for the Environment, France

"I couldn’t dare to admit to which extent Felix has influenced international sustainable development policy".

Jorge Laguna Celis, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN

"Felix has been a permanent fixture in the world of major groups, both as an immovable force and a force for inspiration, determination and confidence boosting when at times the cause he and so many of us have espoused has often seemed hopeless and frustrating."

Nick Nuttal, UNEP Communications Director

"His never ending optimism has pulled civil society community through many bleak and cantankerous moments."

Emily Benson, Green Economy Coalition

"At a time of mounting threats to the sustainability of the planet, and as we prepare for the 20 year review of the original Rio Conference, it is essential to understand the road that has brought us to this juncture, so that we can understand the momentous opportunities and tremendous challenges that we face in reaching for a sustainable future. Dodds, Strauss and Strong provide a compelling narrative of the road that brought us to this point and outline a potential path for moving forward."

"There is hardly anyone who knows the international sustainable development scene better than Felix Dodds. A lot of the progress that has been achieved over the past twenty years could not have been achieved without his engagement and input."

Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency

"40 years ago Olaf Palme reminded us that we must share and shape our future together – it is a shared responsibility containing difficult choices. A transition towards a green economy is one of those difficult choices. One that requires political leadership. It will not happen unless we make it happen. Let's put the world economies to work for a common, sustainable future – we can't afford otherwise. Dodds, Strauss and Strong provide... suggestions on how we might address these future challenges." –

Ida Auken, Minister for the Environment of Denmark.

'Felix Dodds has been a welcome fixture of the sustainable development process since the 1992 Earth Summit and Agenda 21. No author I know has the capacity and talent for analyzing the agonizing negotiations over decades. His insight, contacts and ability to conceptualize made him the person to truthfully record the SDG history and intricate negotiations leading to the hopeful 2030s. In this latest coauthored book, he transcends the stakeholder’s perspective and delves, as he always did, into the background of what governments decided, and why. I highly recommend this book for all those interested in following the process.'

- Andrey Vavilov, Ph.D., formerly with the IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin

"Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss and Maurice Strong uses their intimate experience of UN processes to detail the long and sometimes painful journey from the Stockholm summit of 1972 towards Rio +20 in 2012. The distillation of history would be useful to anyone new to the issues. But more important is the dissection of the various forces at play, including trade, competitive development, aid and environmental awareness. Those forces are still here, and will play a major role in shaping the path towards global sustainability - or not - well beyond Rio." –

Richard Black, BBC Environment Correspondent

"It is a privilege to review the recent history of a remarkable initiative that changed attitudes and perceptions, and introduced a new approach for determining the future of Planet Earth. Written by outstanding players that contributed effectively to the success of this major effort, it covers in detail scientific, diplomatic and strategic aspects of a process that peacefully brought together all nations." –

Henrique B. Cavalcanti, former Federal Minister of Environment in Brazil. Former Chairman of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and Former Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Former Deputy Minister of Interior,

"This is a crucial book for any who want to see how much has been achieved and how much remains to be done in combating Climate Change. Incisive and realistic, it provides an essential background for all who want to understand the most important material issue of our time." –

John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC - Former Secretary of State for the Environment

"The first Rio Earth Conference set us on three tracks to sustainable development – social, environmental, economic. In this definitive book, Maurice Strong, one of the architects of that iconic conference, joins with Felix Dodds and Michael Strauss to review the convergence and collisions on the development journey since 1992 and to consider how Rio+20 can truly become a platform for achieving 'the future we want.' Their relevant and enduring message – we are all shareholders in Earth Incorporated and have a responsibility to take the most sustainable paths to prosperity, for people and planet." –

H. Elizabeth Thompson L, Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Coordinator UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 and former Minister for Energy and Environment of Barbados.

'Felix Dodds is the Milo Minderbender of the Stakeholder world'

Alex Kirby BBC Environment Correspondent

"The legacy of Felix Dodds and his contribution to sustainable development will live within the walls of the UN buildings he has worked in; the corridors of conferences and summits he has been a central figure at; and of course all the cafes he ever frequented to order his famous Caffe lattes."

Kirsty Schneeberger MBE