As of March 2026, this website is no longer being updated. I now work mainly on climate issues, especially in Brighton and Hove, and new work can be found on the website of Climate:Change, our independent think-tank on socially inclusive action in the City: www.climatechangebh.org.uk.
Meanwhile, however, this website has over 850 entries, mostly representing my work on international development from 2010-2025. Among much else, there are over 50 book reviews, more than 20 papers and training cases on bridging research and policy and on managing think-tanks, and many papers on other topics, including aid, food security and nutrition, and the future of international development. See ‘Topics and Themes’ for more details. I can be reached at sm@simonmaxwell.net.
Should the EU set up a Leader's Group to accelerate progress on global climate negotiations?
In the run-up to Cancun, I published a piece in the Broker, arguing that expectations were low and that the most likely outcome was agreement on some infrastructure issues. Broadly speaking, this is what happened. Cancun has kept the multilateral process alive, but a real break-through in Durban next year will require new political leadership. In my Broker article, I recommended setting up a new EUEuropean Union Leader's Group, led by Herman van Rompuy. Read the article and tell me what you think. You can vote on the question here.