Event Inter linkages Between Water and Climate.

A high-level meeting on the links between water and climate, held on the eve of the meeting convened by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), entitled “High Level Meeting: Protecting the Climate for All” , focused on the links between SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 13 (climate action), with speakers focusing on the links between water scarcity, displacement, ecosystem services and climate change adaptation, among other issues.

Mohamad Amin Mahmadaminov, Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the UN, chaired the opening panel. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the United Nations General Assembly, opened the meeting. She underscored the need to address water issues in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the need for integrated approaches to managing action for water and sanitation. climate.

Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji, said the September 2019 UN Climate Summit provided an opportunity to change our future and focus on the 1.5 ° C goal. He added that the Coalition High Ambition sought commitments to strengthen nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and emphasized that major economies must meet their commitments and that adaptation should be a priority.

Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, stressed the need for water cooperation in his region and stressed the role of initiatives such as the “International Decade for Action (2018-2028) – Water for Sustainable Development “play by providing a platform for global cooperation.

Luis Alfonso de Alba, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the 2019 Climate Summit, discussed the preparations for the September Climate Summit, noting that nine coalitions have been created and that “Coalitions must be action-oriented”. “.

Nezha El Ouafi, Secretary of State to the Moroccan Minister of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development, highlighted national efforts to save water and treat wastewater, and highlighted the role that the water sector must play a role in climate change policies.

Koro Bessho, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, emphasized the linkages between the goals related to water and health, water and disasters. He added that Japan is co-sponsoring an event on water and disasters to be held in June.

Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, noted that water-related issues are region-specific and that efforts to combat climate change and water must be undertaken. taking into account the specific context.

Burhan Gafoor, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the UN, stressed the need to address the linkages between water and climate at the SDG summit and the climate summit. He reviewed Singapore’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions in its efforts to access water, with the aim of halving the energy needed for desalination. He also highlighted efforts to recycle 60% of wastewater.

Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN, said the effects of climate change will be felt through water, adding that water can be an entry point and a connector. He stressed that “the only alternative to water is water” and said that the climate transition should be considered with water issues “at the center of our concerns”.

Norma Kassi, Director, Aboriginal Collaboration, Arctic Community Research Institute, Canada, said her constituency was “a people of the land and waters around us,” and that their very existence was turned upside down. lakes “are threatened. She emphasized that water is an essential human right.

Vladimir Smakhtin, Coordinator of the UN-Water Working Group on the Implementation of the Decade of Action for Water, speaking on behalf of the UN-Water Chair, said that while mitigation of change climate change concerns greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, adaptation concerns water. He informed participants that UN-Water members were preparing a paper on the linkages between Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 13 to be launched at the July meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Source: SDG Knowledge Hub.