WWD 2020’s theme is water and climate change

Approx. 5 mins read. <470 words

The context:

It’s World Water Day today. The theme for this year is water and climate change and how the two are inextricably linked.

Dr. John Matthews, E.D.-AGWA, is a UNFCCC Conference Of Parties (COP) veteran. He noted recently in a webinar that when he attended COP-15 in Copenhagen in 2009, he was only one of very few experts talking about water and climate change. Later this year in Glasgow at COP-26, water shall be front and center at most of the climate change related talks and discussions.

Water is the connecting link to most everything when it comes to climate change. If we have water in access, we experience floods, not enough causes droughts. There is also the issue of quantity and quality of water and how it contributes to climate change either directly or indirectly.

According to Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, humans need water to survive. This is same for all the systems that we rely on: sanitation, agriculture, healthcare, education, business and industry. Action plans to tackle climate change need to be integrated across different sectors and coordinated across borders. They must have one thing in common: safe and sustainable water management.

Financial institutions also need to do their bit by considering the systems based approaches, during their decision-making process to finance a new project or venture. There have been some breakthroughs in the form of Climate Bonds in China and the new Green Deal in the US, however the banks and investments institutions need to do more, according to Mr. Ovink.

WWD and COVID-19:

It shall be a disservice to not mention the novel Corona Virus, COVID-19, to the readers of this blog. Countries across the world are trying to do their best to cope with this invisible enemy right now. The first line of defense is surprisingly very simple, washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water along with social/physical distancing. Handwashing saves lives. Yet, 40% of the global population – three billion people – live without basic handwashing facilities with soap and water available at home. Unfortunately, globally in a number of countries and communities handwashing soap and clean water is a luxury that households and families simply cannot afford.

In conclusion:

Fighting climate change will open up vast opportunities for the economy in many areas. We need to embrace circular production systems and use water much more efficiently. Dr. Matthews also used the analogy of COVID-19 for addressing climate change. “We must be as prepared and concerned for climate change as we are now doing for COVID-19,” he said. “With the climate events becoming extreme and water becoming scarce or unfit for human consumption, we need to prepare like we are doing for this pandemic. I am hopeful now more than ever,” he added.