Call for Global Water Fund
The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, its preparation and
expected outcomes, focuses the attention of the media and the public at
large on our capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is a
tacit understanding that humans are living well beyond the planet's
means and global production patterns are unsustainable. Whilst we are
told that each one of us must change our lifestyles - in particular our
consumption of resources - we must remember that this is far harder to
achieve if one is poor.
Environmental shocks such as floods, droughts, sea-level rise and
melting glaciers are core reasons for humans to be concerned about
changes in the world's climates. These shocks affect us now and will
continue to do so in the future. It is imperative that we continue to
mitigate their impacts and adapt our societies to avoid billions of
dollars in future costs and incalculable loss of life, especially in
the poorest regions most affected.
The World Water Council therefore regards Copenhagen as a key
opportunity to remind the global community that sensible water
infrastructure investments can help adaptation to climate
change for a minor fraction of the costs of long term mitigation
actions. Indeed, better management of water, is central to many future energy solutions. Managing and supplying water to create renewable energy and reduce energy consumption can overcome poverty and play a major role in supporting climate
change adaptation. We call, therefore, on parties to COP-15 to make
investment in water infrastructure a key part of the Copenhagen global climate deal.
The Global Fund for Water might be composed of two key elements: the
first, "water for health", will be aimed at reducing drastically the
number of deaths (around 25 million a year) caused by waterborne
diseases; the second, "water for food", will be aimed at promoting
water for local agriculture,
in order to increase food security for the chronically poor and
malnourished. The commitment, implementation and monitoring of the
Global Fund for Water should be placed under international control as
determined by the United Nations.
WWC recognise the importance of addressing future climate
change, but in so doing demand that today's water crisis is addressed.
The urgency is there and we cannot miss the opportunity that lies ahead
of us.
Contact information | n/a |
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News type | Inbrief |
File link |
http://www.european-waternews.com/news/id884-Call_for_Global_Water_Fund.html |
Source of information | European Water News |
Subject(s) | METHTODOLOGY - STATISTICS - DECISION AID , NATURAL MEDIUM , POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT , RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY |
Geographical coverage | International |
News date | 09/12/2009 |
Working language(s) | ENGLISH |