Knowledge hub

This section houses our key messages and a comprehensive repository of materials on water-related topics. These resources offer valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with water management.

Key messages on Water & Climate

Water is a necessary part of the climate solution: without considering freshwater in mitigation and adaptation, the Paris Agreement will likely be out of reach.

Building on the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, the COP29 Declaration on Water for Climate Action (73 signatories) and the Belém outcomes, the COP31 Presidency’s call to move “from consensus to action” is an opening to turn water commitments into delivery.

There are four suggested focus areas of engagement for the water and associated ecosystems for climate community:

 

Water for Adaptation

By prioritizing adaptive water planning and management, countries can build climate-resilient communities and systems that benefit both people and the planet. At COP31, the Belém Adaptation Indicators and the call to triple adaptation finance by 2035 should be used to make water security visible, measured, and funded.

This covers water resource management, ecosystem protection, nature-based solutions, water supply and sanitation, transboundary cooperation, and water’s role in food and energy systems, through the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus.

Water for Mitigation

Water is fundamental to the net-zero transition. Many mitigation efforts are reliant on available water of sufficient quality, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from water management can be reduced significantly with current technology.

Estimates show that water management accounts for at least 10 percent of global emissions yet receives less than two percent of global climate finance.

The COP31 Energy and Transport day, the Article 6 negotiations, and the next Biennial Transparency Reports due at the end of 2026 (BTR2) are the entry points to measure, reduce, and finance water-related emissions and to account for water in mitigation.

Strengthening methodologies and data on water is also essential for
assessing the potential of innovative financing to strengthen water resilience, including through blue carbon projects.

Water as a Means of Implementation

Water is a resilience multiplier. When climate finance, capacity development, data, technology, and partnerships support water action, water can connect sectors and promote a systems view, reducing risk and increasing resilience.

Quality data and stronger monitoring, reporting, and verification
mechanisms are essential for directing finance towards effective water and climate action.

Water for a Just Transition

A fair and just transition will recognize that for many vulnerable communities, progress on SDG 6 is threatened by climate change, while their experience and knowledge are essential for achieving SDG 6 and building resilience to climate change.

At COP31, this means placing equity, women’s empowerment, and Indigenous knowledge at the centre of water-climate action and
linking water access to human and social development and a just transition.

Global climate pledges can deliver practical support for communities and vulnerable groups affected by the transition away from fossil fuels. The Just Transition Mechanism Belémto-Antalya Mechanism (BAM) requires clearer links to the water-energy nexus.

Resources