Water at the heart of climate resilience

UN climate summits like the annual Conference of the Parties (COPs) have historically laid predominant emphasis on reducing carbon emissions, increasing the capacities for renewable energy, and establishing finance mechanisms.

- GIRUJA K BHARAT AND SYAMAL KUMAR SARKAR

But in recent years, there is growing recognition that climate change is experienced primarily through water.

This increased acknowledgement of water as a primary issue was seen during the COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which highlighted water as a significant crosscutting issue. During COP 28, over 50 countries signed the Dubai Water Declaration, endorsing the integration of water and climate policies. By incorporating water resilience into the official Action Agenda, COP 30 further leverages and consolidates this momentum.

The focus on water has grown stronger as the world gets ready for COP 30, the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference that will be held in Belém, Brazil. The nexus between water, energy, food, ecosystems, human health, and climate change highlights the fact that water is part of both the climate crisis and the solutions. The critical importance of the water sector is evident and unmistakable. Fundamentally, the efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change are linked with the hydrological cycle, which is being disrupted by rising temperatures, deforestation, and pollution. To systematically address water resilience across various geographic, sectoral, and political scales, we need to implement integrated water resource management (IWRM). Climate security without water security is unattainable for any nation and therefore warrants concerted efforts to tackle both issues cohesively.

The official COP 30 Action Agenda delineates six major thematic pillars that will help the world accelerate the global response to climate change. The thematic pillars of the COP 30 Action Agenda are designed to create a framework that supports stakeholder mobilisation and accelerates the implementation of agreements reached from the first Global Stocktake (GST-1). They are as follows:

1. Transitioning Energy, Industry and Transport.

2. Stewarding Forests, Oceans and Biodiversity.