Water Action is at the Heart of Climate Action
Water Action is at the Heart of Climate Action
Day 3: 2 December 2015
Today at COP21, the French and Peruvian government’s Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) will focus on resilience. Recognizing the close connection between water and climate change, the day will feature a dedicated water segment.
During the day’s private sector session, the new Business Alliance for Water and Climate Change (BAfW) is being launched. Led by the UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate, together with CDP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), BAfW is comprised of companies that have signed a declaration agreeing to:
- Call for water to be taken into account at COP21 and in the global climate agenda.
- Commit to measure and minimize water risks and impacts by working with CDP, the UN Global Compact, WBCSD and other collaborative initiatives.
The Resilience Day session is critical entry point for BAfW companies to share their message at COP21. They are delivering an important call for water challenges to be integrated into the global climate policy and financing architecture and for other businesses to commit to take meaningful action.
Your company can support BAfW and the declaration by scaling up your own efforts to address water and climate challenges. The CEO Water Mandate has developed a Water Stewardship Toolbox that can help your company identify the practices that will be most valuable and appropriate for your unique circumstances. The Toolbox has resources to help companies just beginning to work on water stewardship as well as those that have more advanced practices, following the progression below.
In addition, the CEO Water Mandate and Caring for Climate have jointly developed a briefing note – currently open for consultation – to more deeply explore the linkages between climate and water challenges and what businesses need to know and do. All companies are invited to review the note and provide comments to Bernhard Frey at the UN Global Compact (freyb@un.org) and Stefanie Woodward at the Pacific Institute (swoodward@pacinst.org).
