UN Water Conference 2023 Reflection
By Sukriti Mahipal
The UN Water Conference 2023, held in New York, was the first water conference to take place in 46 years. Being able to partake in this historic moment was a privilege, albeit an eye- opening, exhilarating, and sometimes hopeless experience. Issues surrounding clean water for drinking and sanitation, transboundary water cooperation and conflict, water for sustainable development, etc., are not given the attention and importance that is needed. Without addressing issues surrounding water, we will never be able to succeed in the fight against climate change, as water is key to building resilience in tackling and adapting to the climate crisis.
It was encouraging to see that the conference was attended by almost 10,000 people, both virtually and in-person. However, the disheartening fact, as mentioned by the moderator of the side event, “’Water’ We Doing: Private sector engagement to end the water crisis” was that the conference was attended by only 13 heads of state. This event was an eye- opener for me: and not just because I found out about the lack of seriousness that was being displayed by states when it came to the water crisis. I also realized that it is extremely important for the private sector to come forth to tackle the water crisis. The atmosphere in the room resonated with this realization. Private sector companies were passionate about finding solutions to the problem instead of creating them. The private companies were quick to highlight the difficulty in collaborating across the sector, given the high on-ground transaction costs. It is easier to collaborate bilaterally because of this reason. Hence, it would be imperative to invest in the research and development for innovation for collaborative models (both within and outside of the private and public sectors).
Sukriti Mahipal at the UN Water Conference
Sitting in the above-mentioned side event made me ponder about the governance issue. It is advantageous to have the private sector rallied behind taking action in the water crisis, since they can speed up the process, scale, and skills required to tackle the problem, however, if governance mechanisms are not in place to ensure transparency accountability, and compliance, this could also end up in bluewashing.
Throughout the conference, in most of the other sessions I attended, the speakers were focused on making headline statements. The ability to talk about action items was potentially much hindered by the “agreement that no political declaration would be made, meaning the primary outcome would be voluntary commitments from participants.”
Some results from the Conference:
The Hungarian Minister’s passionate call to action to address the global water crisis resulted in a pledge to secure $30 billion annually for water investment in Africa to meet the goal of restoring 300,000 kilometers of rivers by 2030.
The Water Action Agenda commitment by CDP, a not-for-profit organisation that carries out environmental disclosure system for companies, investors, cities, and states, has brought together 1,800 companies who have promised to invest in 2,719 water-smart products and services by 2028. These investments represent a commercial opportunity of at least $436 billion and have the potential to transform corporate social responsibility and investor demands for water and climate risk disclosure and mitigation.
India has committed $50 billion to extend access to safe drinking water to all rural households in the country by 2030.
In the next five years, 17 private sector businesses have committed $11 billion towards research and development of water solutions.
It will be interesting to see the work that takes place after this conference. I will also be keen to see the place that water will have in COP28 in Dubai.
Sukriti Mahipal is a MALD student at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.