North Carolina / SAN FRANCISCO, California, Jun 30 2026 (IPS) – With progress stalled on many issues, this year’s June talks in Bonn—which are supposed to smooth the way towards COP 31 in Antalya at year’s end—were widely judged a failure. What happened? And what does it mean for Antalya? (first published with InterPress Service…
With the deadline for candidates’ nominations now passed, four names are officially in the frame. Prof. Felix Dodds and Chris Spence size up the candidates. Originally published on Inter-Press Service here. APEX, North Carolina / SAN FRANCISCO, California, Apr 8 2026 (IPS) – Let the race begin!April 1st was the deadline for candidates to be nominated for…
Taken from the excellent newsletter Environment: What’s Up in GENeva | 5 – 11 January 2026 which you can subscribe to here. 16 – 19 February | 6th Meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Implementation | Rome, Italy 9– 15 February | 62nd Munich Security Conference | Munich, Germany 9 – 20 March | 31st Session of the International Seabed…
A Year in Review High-Level Dialogue UNEA 7 2025 has been a tough year for multilateralism, where, in many of the forums I have been operating in, we have mostly been trying to defend the gains we have made over the past 10 years. My political activities for this year have focused on multilateral environmental…
The report is UN80: Reform of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Around the Triple Planetary Crisis of Pollution, Biodiversity, and Climate Change edited by Felix Dodds and Chris Spence UN 80 and Clustering the Multilateral Environmental Agreements . The fifth in the series recognises that the world is in one of its most difficult periods and…
Can be watched here. I had the pleasure of working with Maurice Strong and Michael Strauss on the 2012 book Only One Earth The Long Road via Rio+20 to Sustainable Development I had the pleasure of working with Maurice Strong and Michael Strauss on the 2012 book Only One Earth The Long Road via Rio+20…
In this episode, Felix Dodds discusses his latest book, Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy, which highlights the pivotal role of environmental leaders, such as Maurice Strong, in shaping strong environmental policy and opening space for stakeholder participation alongside governments—an approach Dodds himself has long advocated for. He reflects on the current state of the UN 2030 Agenda…
By Felix Dodds and Chris Spence SAN FRANCISCO, California / APEX, North Carolina, US, Aug 4 2025 (IPS) – There is no question that most climate activists and governments were delighted when Brazil offered to host the 2025 UN Climate Conference taking place this November. Brazil has played such a crucial role in shaping the sustainable development agenda. It…
By Felix Dodds and Chris Spence UNDP is looking for its next leader. Who should it be? Prof. Felix Dodds and Chris Spence look at the candidates and identify the qualities and characteristics a new leader should possess. Development & Aid, Global, Global Governance, Headlines Opinion Who Should Lead the UN Development Programme? By Felix Dodds and Chris SpenceReprint | | Print | Send by email…
You can watch the book launch on the UN Publications Facebook page here. Felix Dodds – comments at the book launch. (copies still available at the UN Bookshop) I have had the pleasure of working with member states, UN staff and stakeholders on many of the critical issues that have challenged us since the Earth Summit…
