Heat in the Room – Day 4 OWG12

by khristian méndez // Temperature has risen in New York City, both on all of the concrete and glass surfaces of this giant man-made complex, as well as in the negotiation rooms. Everybody can agree that we need to eradicate poverty, have access to food, education and health, but as we descend down the list of goals, the views become more and more heated. Divergence on Biodiversity This morning...

Can we score goals in the right place? – Day 2+3 OWG12

by khristian méndez // Inside the Headquarters of the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Goals are being negotiated. Negotiations are taking place not only between governments at the formal and informal negotiations at the ECOSOC Chamber, but also outside of it in bilaterals, between Major Groups and other stakeholders. Chairs are asking to trim down numbers of targets and goals,...

What exactly is the way forward? – Day 1 OWG12

by khristian méndez // A little after 9am this morning, the doors of the Economic and Social Council Chamber were opened to dozens of members of Civil Society who were awaiting the morning briefing. Right before they opened, Roman and I had a lovely exchange with a lady who spent 30 years working in this building, so she’s become… quite skeptical of these processes. She is now an elder...

Earth in Brackets hits the airwaves!

by Khristian Méndez EN - Hello! As part of our work on the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals, we will by publishing a series of podcasts, the first of which can be found here. Enjoy after the jump! ES - ¡Hola! Como parte de nuestro trabajo sobre el Grupo Abierto de Trabajo sobre las Metas de Desarrollo Sostenible, estaremos publicando una serie de podcasts, de las cuales...

The doughnut model of development

by khristian méndez // Two words seem to be hanging with strings from the clouds over Rio de Janeiro these days, making their way into everyone's mouth: Sustainable Development. They are in there because they have been placed as the center concern for both Rio+20 and its alternative forum. Known as Cupula dos Povos or People's Summit, the counter part to Rio+20 is taking place next to the...