Water, Climate & Development Day

Session 1: Global Policy Solutions for Adaptation and Mitigation

• Water conservation has been less dealt with since the last COP.
• COP 17 must result in decisions to solve the injustices that concern women, children and other vulnerable groups.
• Investments in water management, information and knowledge must be prioritised.
• The African Ministers Conference on Water (AMCOW) and the AU are the institutions/organisations that are committed to push policy making that will prioritise water management and adaptation measures to the scarcity of water.
• COP 17 must fulfill the Cancun resolution.
• An estimated USD 9 to 11 billion is needed by 2030 for water management.
• Better climate prediction information is important so as to be able to avoid some detrimental impacts of climate change.
• Partnership among African countries and awareness among people is important in order to move forward.
• The Water and Climate Coalition has been active in trying to bring all parties around the globe into one playing field which is water and climate change adaptation measures.
• There is a need to push the water issue into the agenda of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• The Nairobi Work Programme should be strengthened and used to produce water focused initiatives (thematic).
• Partnership with the private sector is important as it has proven to be a success in a number of places (e.g. Sydney sea water purification project).
• There is a need for structural formation and capacity building given that current institutions have demonstrated limited capacity to deal with issues of the caliber currently experienced.
• The Africa Green Fund must also be utilized for projects that are related to water management and climate change adaptation.
• Africa in partnership with other developing countries, must speak with one voice.
• It is time to move beyond and ideas and now focus on implement.

Session 2: Infrastructure, Technical and Ecosystem Solutions

• It was stressed that communities cannot wait for perfect information before taking action against the roots of climate change. Policies and institutional arrangements have been put in place; now is the time to act.
• Climate change interventions must be rooted in development, aligned with mitigation and adaptation.
• Focus must also be on rehabilitation and operation of existing infrastructure.
• Africa has received the lowest proportion of climate change financing among developing regions. Only 190 of the 7088 CDM projects are hosted in Africa.
• The AfDB is ready to partner to ensure food security, water supply security and energy security in Africa.
• Regional Policy Dialogue aims to:
  • Raise awareness among the public and decision-makers on the importance of water-based climate change adaptation.
  • Provide a platform for all stakeholders.
  • Promote the exchange of experiences and unite efforts.
• Ecosystem Based Adaptation is an effective and economical approach to safeguard people from climate impact. Needs include:
  • Stakeholder engagement.
  • A global fact base and communities of practice demonstrating effectiveness of nature based solutions in different circumstances.
  • Analytical tools to show vulnerability and impacts.

Session 4: Financial and Institutional Solutions

• Africa has hydro-electric power generation potential that is not fully utilized at the moment.
• Hydroelectric power generation is a more viable option because it leads to water management and flood protection. Africa has to attract more investors in this field.
• Right now, the majority of African countries have minimal access to funding due to lack of capacity to receive such funding.
• However, negotiating with investors is an art that Africa needs to master. It is about how you ask for investments.
• African countries should fully utilize the Africa Green Fund
• The Green Fund also ensures that countries have full capacity to access the finance needed.
• Africa needs more private sector involvement but to achieve this, the continent needs to learn how to negotiate with the private sector.
• The essence is to make private companies aware of the impact that climate change might have on their already existing investments and try to convince them to invest in mitigation and adaptation measures.
• However, over-reliance on private sector alone is risky, so Africa needs to diversify sources of funding. More inclusion of the public sector is also important.
• An effective governing structure also needs to be built, which will enable the voice of Africa to be heard in the global village.

Session 5: High Level Panel 1: Reflections and Perspectives for Integrating Water into the Climate Regime

• Mr Simon Brooks from European Investment Bank (EIB) opened the session, explaining what the EIB is.  He detailed that the bank is owned by the member states, that the bank is a regular bank, but that does not make grants.
• The EIB does most of its business in Europe. Only 10 percent of its work takes place done outside the European Union.
• However, projects are underway in East Africa, Malawi and Durban. Projects focus on water and sanitation.
• Mr Brooks also talked about what it would take for African governments to get more investment form the EIB. He raised two key aspects:
  • Need to communicate with the countries what their priorities are and where they most want the EIB to work (what is the shopping list). In cases where the priority is water, it is important to indicate which interventions make the most sense (money or technical assistance).
  • The projects the European Investment Bank invests in must be financially sustainable. There is need to work on the physical aspects of the project as well as the management dimension. The projects should stick around for the long haul.
• Following Brooks’ presentation, Sering Jallow discussed and outlined the work of the AfDB.
• The AfDB invests USD 1.5 billion annually in the energy sector. Renewable energy, however, represents only a small proportion.
• Projects in water and sanitation are mostly focused on adaptation since the impact of climate change mostly affects the vulnerable parts of society.
• It was made clear that the African Green Fund would try to target funds from the Green Climate Fund.
• Anja Grobicki talked about the need for focus on infrastructure in climate change negotiations.
• Also, Ms Grobicki touched on the importance of how climate change funds are designed and structured.
• Generally, the panel underscored the challenge in designing funds to target ticket items needed in water and sanitation. It was pointed out that the perspective of private banks and development banks was well covered, but little perspective was provided on insurance. It was noted that more insight on reinsurance offerings was just as important.
• Anders Berntell offered six compelling reasons to focus on water. He stated that proposals put together in Cancun and Durban were not exactly the same, but the underlying aspects were.
• Mr. Berntell raised three key points:
  • Urgency – droughts and floods are already affecting us and poor communities are hit the hardest. This has effects both at the individual and economic levels. Multinationals are beginning to understand that water is a real risk for their livelihood.
  • Role of water in negotiations and reconstruction - water is a natural resource and is linked to other parts of the economy. It has many components in negotiations. Negotiators wonder why water is being pushed for yet it is captured in many parts of the negotiation. The challenge is the lack of a common link between the different aspects of water.
  • There is need for a substantive technical discussion before the next COP meeting. There is already a proposal by Bangladesh