Embedding Water Resilience in Global Adaptation Goals – Expectations from COP30 – orfonline.org

Report on Embedding Water Resilience in Global Climate Adaptation Goals for COP30

1.0 Introduction: Aligning Water Security with Sustainable Development Goals

The upcoming COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, presents a critical opportunity to integrate water resilience into the core of global climate policy, directly supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Historically peripheral in climate discourse, water is now recognized as the primary medium through which climate change impacts are felt. This report outlines the necessity of embedding water-centric strategies within the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), aligning climate action with SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and related goals concerning ecosystems and sustainable communities.

Recent international milestones have elevated the importance of the water-climate nexus:

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 report highlighted water’s centrality to adaptation.
• The 2023 United Nations (UN) Water Conference reinforced this connection.
• The UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, adopted at COP28, established the GGA and the UAE-Belem Work Programme to track national commitments.

COP30 must translate this growing recognition into concrete policy and financial commitments, ensuring that climate solutions advance water security and contribute to a resilient and equitable future as envisioned by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

2.0 Analysis of Current Frameworks and Existing Gaps

While frameworks linking climate and water exist, global water security remains fragmented. The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), anchored in Article 7 of the Paris Agreement, aims to enhance adaptive capacity and reduce vulnerability. However, its current approach to water is inadequate for achieving comprehensive resilience and meeting interconnected SDGs.

2.1 Limitations of Current GGA Indicators

The indicators under the GGA are narrowly focused on infrastructure and service delivery, overlooking systemic risks and interdependencies. This limited scope fails to address the full spectrum of water-related challenges necessary for achieving SDG 6.

• Systemic Risks Ignored: The intricate links between water, ecosystems (SDG 15), and other sectors like urban development (SDG 11) are not adequately captured.
• Data and Implementation Gaps: Indicator development is fragmented, with significant data gaps and weak integration of implementation support.
• Underrepresentation of Critical Systems: The cryosphere, which contains 70% of the world’s freshwater, is critically underrepresented, jeopardizing water security for billions and undermining efforts under SDG 6 and SDG 13.

3.0 Strategic Recommendations for COP30

To address these gaps, COP30 must serve as a historic inflection point. The following actions are essential for placing water at the heart of climate action and aligning global efforts with the SDGs.

3.1 Strengthen Water Indicators in the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)

The operationalization of the GGA hinges on a robust indicator framework. It is imperative to retain and expand water-related indicators to guide national adaptation plans and mobilize finance.

1. Retain Proposed Indicators: The 10 indicators for water supply and sanitation, reduced from an initial 1,046, must be retained in the final GGA framework to support SDG 6.1 and SDG 6.2.
2. Prioritize New Indicators: Indicators for transboundary water cooperation (supporting SDG 6.5) and cryosphere-related risks must be prioritized to reflect their critical importance to global water security and climate regulation (SDG 13).

3.2 Mainstream Water into National Climate Plans (NDCs and NAPs)

COP30 marks the conclusion of the NDC 3.0 cycle, providing a crucial opportunity to embed water-specific targets into national climate strategies, thereby advancing SDG 13.2.

• Integrate Water as a Core Axis: Currently, only 16% of NDCs treat water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as a high priority, and less than 2% address transboundary water cooperation. This must be rectified by mainstreaming targets for resilient drinking water systems, freshwater ecosystem restoration (SDG 15.1), and integrated urban water management (SDG 11.5).
• Enhance Policy Coherence: Such integration will build coherence between adaptation and mitigation pathways, creating a stronger basis for mobilizing climate finance in line with SDG 17.

3.3 Mobilize Equitable Climate Finance for Sustainable Water Management

Addressing the annual adaptation finance gap of US$187–359 billion is critical. COP30 must ensure that climate finance is equitable, accessible, and directed towards water resilience.

• Implement Quantified Goals: The New Collective Quantified Goals from COP29 must include measurable allocations for WASH and water security, directly contributing to SDG 6.
• Scale Up Innovative Finance: Public and concessional finance for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and guarantees that de-risk private investment must be scaled. Multi-stakeholder financing vehicles are needed to combine public and private capital while ensuring equity for low-income users, supporting SDG 1 and SDG 10.
• Promote Nature-based Solutions (NbS): Investments in NbS, such as catchment restoration and rejuvenation of urban wetlands, are essential for disaster mitigation and climate adaptation, advancing both SDG 11 and SDG 15.

4.0 Conclusion: A Call for Integrated Water-Climate Action

COP30 must be a decisive turning point where water is reframed as a strategic lever for achieving climate resilience, equity, and peace, fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. The following actions are imperative:

1. Adopt and implement comprehensive water resilience targets within the GGA framework.
2. Mainstream water security into all NDCs and NAPs to ensure policy coherence.
3. Scale up investments in climate and hydrological data systems for adaptive, data-driven water management.
4. Promote basin-level approaches and community-led governance to minimize climate risk and advance SDG 6.5.

By integrating these measures, the global community can effectively leverage water management as a core strategy for climate action, ensuring progress towards a sustainable and resilient future for all.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  This is the central theme of the article. It directly addresses the need to embed “water and sanitation at the heart of international climate adaptation efforts.” The text focuses on global water security, resilient drinking water systems, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), transboundary water cooperation, and integrated water management, all of which are core components of SDG 6.

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  The article is framed entirely within the context of climate change policy, specifically the Conference of the Parties (COP) summits. It discusses the Paris Agreement, the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). The core argument is to integrate water resilience into climate action, stating that “water is the medium through which mitigation, adaptation, and justice must be implemented.”

• SDG 15: Life on Land

  The article emphasizes the protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems. It mentions the Amazon as a “critical freshwater and biodiversity epicentre” and advocates for “nature-based solutions (NbS)” such as “restoring catchments, reforestation, rejuvenating urban wetlands,” which directly relates to protecting terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  The article calls for strengthening the resilience of “cities, and communities alike” and advocates for “integrated urban water management.” This connects to making human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, particularly in the face of climate-related water risks.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The discussion revolves around global cooperation and frameworks like the Paris Agreement, the UAE-Belem Work Programme, and the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action. It calls for mobilizing “climate finance,” scaling up “multi-stakeholder financing vehicles,” and ensuring “water-climate coherence” in international policy, all of which are central to SDG 17.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all

  The article’s call to include targets for “resilient drinking water systems” and its focus on “WASH” (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) directly support this target, especially in the context of climate resilience.

• Target 6.5: Implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate

  This target is explicitly addressed. The article criticizes that “less than 2 percent of [NDCs] address transboundary water cooperation” and calls for prioritizing indicators for it. It also advocates for “Scaling up Basin-level approaches.”

• Target 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes

  The article strongly advocates for this target by promoting “nature-based solutions (NbS)” which include “restoring catchments, reforestation, rejuvenating urban wetlands,” and the “restoration of freshwater ecosystems.”

• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries

  This is a core focus of the article. It discusses the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), which aims to “build adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change,” with a specific emphasis on water-related resilience.

• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning

  The article makes a direct plea for this target by urging nations to “mainstream water into NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)” and embed “water-specific targets across national climate strategies.”

• Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services

  The emphasis on the Amazon as a “freshwater and biodiversity epicentre” and the call to restore freshwater ecosystems and wetlands align directly with the conservation and restoration goals of this target.

• Target 17.14: Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development

  The article’s central argument is to achieve “water-climate coherence” and ensure that water is not a “sectoral co-benefit” but a “core planning axis” in climate policy, which is a clear call for enhanced policy coherence.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicators for Water Supply and Sanitation in the GGA Framework

  The article explicitly mentions the development of indicators for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), stating that “the number of initially compiled indicators under water supply and sanitation was 1,046, which was reduced to 10 in the final proposal.” These 10 indicators are proposed for retention to measure progress on water resilience.

• Indicators for Transboundary Water Cooperation and Cryosphere Risks

  The article directly calls for the prioritization of new indicators, stating that “Indicators for transboundary water cooperation and cryosphere-related risks must also be prioritised.” It notes that “only one indicator for the cryosphere has been included” despite its importance, implying a need for more comprehensive metrics in this area.

• Percentage of NDCs Prioritizing Water Issues

  The article provides specific data that can be used as an indicator of policy integration. It states that “Only 16 percent of NDCs treat water, sanitation and hygiene as a high priority, and less than 2 percent of them address transboundary water cooperation.” Tracking these percentages over time would measure progress in mainstreaming water into climate plans.

• Climate Finance Allocation for Water Security and WASH

  An implied indicator is the amount of climate finance directed towards water. The article highlights an annual investment gap of “US$187–359 billion” and calls for “measurable allocations for WASH and water security” under the New Collective Quantified Goals. Measuring the flow of public and private finance to these sectors would be a key indicator of progress.

• Development of Hydrological Data Systems

  The article concludes by calling for investments to be “directed towards building climate and hydrological data systems for adaptive and data-driven water resource management.” The existence and quality of these data systems can serve as an indicator of a country’s capacity for climate adaptation.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

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