Water Is Necessary For All COP28 Pledges 

David Henderson, XPV Water Partners’ Managing Partner, reports on his recent trip to COP28.

Last week, during what is about to be named the hottest year on record, I travelled to Dubai to attend COP28. As always, it was an impressive and well-attended event.  

The most significant funding pledges and the most talked about agreements were not explicitly focused on water, but they all demand that we manage water more sustainably. Countries and organizations committed to breaking away from fossil fuels, investing in climate finance, building resilience to climate change, scaling regenerative agriculture, setting new targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, and reaching net-zero methane emissions, to name a few.  

We can’t make progress on any of these commitments without clean and available water. More and more, the world is starting to realize and acknowledge how reliable water resources are critical to a functioning society and economy. 

Last December, our team released The Role of the Water Sector in Climate Change, a report in which we outline how water and climate change are linked, and how the water sector can make a difference by doing more with less, improving the way it protects the environment, and closing the loop with reuse and recovery.  

Conversations in Dubai touched on every aspect of our paper. Even though water was underrepresented on the official agenda, I was happy to meet and speak with stakeholders from government, business, and NGOs who see the connections. It felt like real momentum. 

Beyond the big conferences, we want to continue to help changemakers understand how they can create value and leverage innovation by investing in water sector solutions. Together with Global Water Intelligence, our team will release a new paper in early 2024 that shows how finance must play a critical role in a water secure future.  

Stay tuned.