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 and stresses the importance of revisiting the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through more ambitious and coherent policies. He critiques the lack of accountability for SDG partnerships, particularly around water and energy, where little progress regarding policy has been made since the late 1990s. He explains that “there hasn’t been enough of a robust approach to whether these partnerships are real and what they’re delivering,” calling for stronger forums that go beyond visibility and cooperation to real policy-making.
Regarding the UN Reform, Dodds highlights the need to simplify the UN’s overlapping conventions, suggesting that they be merged around the UNEP vision of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and pollution. Creating three clusters of conventions, recognising we already have a proof of concept with the UN conventions on Pollution (chemicals and waste). This will ensure greater efficiency and impact, with UNEP playing a stronger role on the international stage.
He calls for COPs to evolve into opportunities for implementation, using spaces utilizing spaces like the Blue Zone at climate COPS to build “coalitions of implementation.”
Looking ahead to COP30 in Brazil and its Global Ethical Stocktake, he emphasises the possibility of renewing momentum behind the SDGs while rooting decisions in shared values. For him, the Earth Charter provides this ethical foundation: “the question is how do we integrate the Earth Charter more into the policy-making space?” he asks, pointing to the GES as a timely opportunity to guide governments toward deeper commitments. Ultimately, he insists that “we need to go more in depth on what we believe is creating a stable society, a stable world,” underscoring the pivotal role of ethics in navigating today’s global challenges.
