Water for Climate Action: Integrating Water Solutions into NDCs and NAPs

Water-related mitigation and adaptation are essential ingredients of the push to meet the Paris Agreement goals, as water resources are needed for clean energy solutions but are under threat from rising temperatures, drought, and other climate-related pressures. Held just prior to the launch of The Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action, this event brought to the table key stakeholders, including UN agencies and governments, to exchange perspectives and seek collaborative solutions for scaling up and integrating water into climate strategies, including into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Moderated by Hurshid Rustamov, UN Resident Coordinator Office, Azerbaijan, the event opened with remarks by Kamala Huseynli-Abishova, Water for Climate Action focal point, COP 29 Presidency, who highlighted the Baku Dialogue as “a call for continuity and sharing” to keep the focus on unlocking the mitigation and adaptation potential of water resources. Huseynli-Abishova stressed that water challenges also are water solutions that can have impacts across sectors and most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the event’s first segment on how the UN system is supporting Parties’ strategies and plans to scale up and implement water-related mitigation and adaptation, experts identified key issues for water resources and the need to put them at the center of climate action.

Stefan Uhlenbrook, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), offered insights from the State of Global Water Resources 2023 report, which shows, inter alia, that 2023 was the driest year for global rivers in the past three decades and that hydrological cycles are being disrupted, with well-above or well-below average reservoir in-flows and groundwater levels.

Nicolas Franke, WMO on behalf of UN-Water Expert Group on Water and Climate Change, noted the release of the UN-Water Analytical Brief Water for Climate Mitigation, which identifies key issues for integrating water resources and provides guidance on how these resources can help achieve Paris climate goals. Franke emphasized that water is necessary for a wide range of mitigation measures and that understanding its availability and constraints can assist in deciding mitigation options.

Dianna Kopansky, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), stressed the importance of freshwater systems for limiting global warming and pointed to the importance of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach, which countries are increasingly adopting. Also key, Kopansky underscored, is the need to protect ecosystems, which UNEP and partner organizations are helping to accomplish through restoration and conservation projects. Kopansky urged scaling up and connecting action across The Rio Conventions, NAPs, and NDC, noting that the UN system makes available information and data that help to do that.

Sonja Koeppel, Secretary, Water Convention, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), stressed that water resources are transboundary by nature and that there is a need to share data and incorporate this aspect into NAPs and NDCs. However, fewer than half of NAPs and only 6% of NDCs mention this as a thematic area. Koeppel urged promoting inclusive consultations with stakeholders and developing a shared vision for adaptation and mitigation.

In the second segment featuring an exchange of perspectives and collaborative solutions, stakeholders called for more coordination and mainstreaming water in climate policymaking.

Wampie Libon, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, stressed the need to “radically change” the way we understand, value, and manage water resources. “Water should be taken into the heart of climate action, and we should act together,” Libon said. She noted the Water at the Heart of Climate Action Program, which is working to improve early warning systems for droughts and flooding. Libon noted that countries are including water in their national plans but that these commitments lack adequate financing. She urged continuing to learn from each other and making “water the driver of climate action,” with increased political commitment, expertise and finance resources.

Ruth Davis, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UK, noted that it is strange that only recently water has risen to prominence at COPs, as it is “clear that water underpins the health of all ecosystems.” She urged working in synergistic ways across the UN system and conventions. Davis noted that water is an issue that “connects people to things they immediately care about.”

Rakotomavo Zo Andrianina, National Meteorological and Hydrorological Service, Madagascar, underscored major changes in rainfall patterns, including more frequent cyclones and simultaneous flooding and drought. Andrianina highlighted the further integration of water into Madagascar’s next NDC through improved institutional arrangements and better data. He stressed the inclusion of local communities in implementation plans based on actionable data.

Henk Ovink, Executive Director and Founding Commissioner, Global Commission on the Economics of Water, urged viewing water as a global public good and stressed the need to integrate both freshwater (green) and Ocean (blue) resources into NDCs. Ovink pointed to the Global Commission on the Economics of Water’s report, and urged partnerships to restore ecosystems and take a transformative approach to stabilize global water cycles.

Closing the event, Ingrid Timboe, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Policy Specialist, Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), reflected on a colleague’s comment in an earlier panel: “Climate is water” – noting its truth and that it is essential to have the data and cooperation needed to tackle water challenges. She noted: “If we take the premise that climate is water, then if challenges are about water, then so, too, are solutions.” She pointed to AGWA’s water resilience tracker, which is a diagnostic tool that can help countries develop their national climate plans.

In final remarks, participants from the audience stressed that it is important to coordinate with businesses to align water resource goals and urged holistic approaches that take into account the complexity of water-related mitigation and adaptation issues.

Organizer: UNEP

Contact: Dianna Kopansky | dianna.kopansky@un.org

Website: www.unep.org