Additional information
by Felix Dodds (Editor), Chris Spence (Editor)
Today more than ever, when the world is beset by environmental, social, healthcare and economic challenges, we need courage in our politics, both nationally and globally. This book tells the stories, some for the first time, of twelve individuals who made heroic contributions to protecting our planet through ground-breaking international treaties.
Can individuals change the world? Today, when impersonal forces and new technologies seem to be directing our lives and even our entire planet in ways we cannot control, this question feels more relevant than ever before. This book argues that we can all make a difference. It tells inspiring stories of individuals who have had a global impact that is beyond dispute, as well as others who have brought about change that is understated or hard to measure, where the scale of the impact will only become clear in years to come. While some are scientists, others are politicians, diplomats, activists, and even businesspeople. However, they all share the qualities of perseverance, patience, a willingness to innovate or try new approaches, and the endurance to continue over years, even decades, to pursue their goal. Drawing on interviews and the inside stories of those involved, each chapter follows one or more of these heroic individuals, a list which includes Luc Hoffmann, Mostafa Tolba, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Raul Oyuela Estrada, Barack Obama and Paula Caballero.
Presenting an uplifting and gripping narrative, this book is an invaluable resource for students, scholars, activists and professionals who are seeking to understand how consensus is reached in these global meetings and how individuals can have a genuine impact on preserving our planet and reinforcing the positive message that global cooperation can actually work.
Author Biography
Felix Dodds is an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and an Associate Fellow at the Tellus Institute. He was the co-director of the 2014 and 2018 Nexus Conference on Water, Food, Energy and Climate. In 2019, he was a candidate for the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He is the UNC lead PI on the Belmont Forum grant on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience. He has written or edited over 21 books, and his last book was Tomorrow's People and New Technologies: Changing How We Live Our Lives. His other books have included the Vienna Café Trilogy which chronicles sustainable development at the international level. He co-wrote the first Only One Earth with the father of Sustainable Development Maurice Strong and Michael Strauss, the second From Rio+20 to the New Development Agenda with Jorge Laguna Celis and Ambassador Liz Thompson and the last one Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals with Ambassador David Donoghue and Jimena Leiva Roesch. Felix was the Executive Director of Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future from 1992 to 2012. He played a significant role in promoting multi-stakeholder dialogues at the United Nations and proposed to the UN General Assembly the introduction of stakeholder dialogue sessions at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. In 2011, Felix was listed as one of 25 environmentalists ahead of his time. Also, in 2011 he chaired the United Nations DPI 64th NGO conference - 'Sustainable Societies Responsive Citizens' which put forward the first set of indicative Sustainable Development Goals. From 1997 to 2001, he co-chaired the UN Commission on Sustainable Development NGO Steering Committee.
Chris Spence is a writer and environmentalist. He has worked internationally on sustainable development, conservation, climate change and health policy, and he held leadership positions at non-profit organizations in New York, New Zealand and California. He also consulted widely for the United Nations, IUCN-World Conservation Union and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and he has undertaken assignments in more than 40 countries on five continents, focused, in particular, on climate change and sustainable development policy and practice, as well as international law. He has also served as a political advisor and journalist and been on the boards of several environmental organizations. An award-winning writer, Chris is the author or co-author of several books, including Global Warming: Personal Solutions for a Healthy Planet (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and Rock Happy (2021). He holds MA (Hons) and BA degrees in Political Science and History from Victoria University. Originally from the United Kingdom, Chris lived in New Zealand, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Ireland in 2020, where he currently lives with his family.
