This conversation will position WASH where it belongs as a part of comprehensive resilience packages and plans. It will do that by highlighting the cost benefits of building the resilience of infrastructure assets and basic social services such as water supply, sanitation and hygiene in low- and middle-income countries, by explaining how climate-resilient WASH aligns with and feeds into broader climate rationale in countries, and by discussing new avenues to team up and work with financiers and the private sector.

According to the latest updates, developed countries are not on track to fulfil their Paris Agreement commitment to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries that came into effect in 2020.

Specific efforts to mobilize private finance in developing countries have also stalled. In addition, adaptation continues only receive approximately one quarter of total public climate finance. This leaves the Paris Agreement commitment to balance funding between mitigation and adaptation unmet while the impacts of climate change are felt now, particularly by the most vulnerable countries and communities.

It is in these countries where access to basic services such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are the lowest, especially in rural areas. Imbalance is not only present between mitigation and adaptation, but also within the adaptation space itself: within the water sector, it is estimated that only one tenth of climate finance for water-related projects is linked to the adaptation needs for basic WASH, accounting for just 0.3% of total global climate finance (WaterAid – ODI 2020).

This dearth of finance is a critical stumbling block on the path to community climate resilience.

In 2021, SWA, in partnership with key allies, led a series of evolving discussions to identify and solve barriers to financial support for WASH adaptation needs in countries impacted by climate change. This includes a set of global webinars launched in May, and a session at World Water Week. Building on these discussions, this event will open the finance-focused day at the Water and Climate Pavilion by reminding the participants and attendees that these Paris Agreement commitments are our common targets – not something that others are failing to fulfil.

We have a shared responsibility to come together, think differently, and pool our collective resources to deliver against our commitments: to raise the ambition needed to mobilise USD 100 billion per year, and to achieve a balance between adaptation and mitigation in that mobilisation.

To think differently – which is easy to say but harder to do – we will start by inverting the role of WASH in climate resilience and action. WASH is typically understood as a consequence of climate change – as in, intense weather events such as droughts, floods and hurricanes typically result in a disruption to WASH services.

Convenors
SWA, UNICEF, WaterAid, Water.org, Governments of UK and Netherlands

More info: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть