COP 27 Side Event: IPCC AR6 water security conclusions& launch of the Expanded Water Tracker for National Climate Plans

 


 

At COP27, AGWA launched a new global partnership supporting the development and implementation of water-resilient NDCs & NAPs. Following the publication of the IPCC AR6 Working Group 2 report earlier this year, this session provided an overview of climate risks to water security, including drought, floods, and human vulnerability and demonstrated how the new Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) Water Tracker tool might address these systemic issues. It aims to make explicit the water embedded in climate change mitigation and adaptation actions and guides countries to systematically assess water use, allocation, and trade-offs across multiple sectors, making sure that plans are robust, flexible and able to withstand the impacts of climate change. The session was organised by AGWA, in partnership with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the University of Exeter and the Walker Institute from the University of Reading. Opening the session, Professor Richard Betts, provided an overview of the IPCC assessment of climate change implications for water security, and Professor Rosalind Cornforth, Director of the Walker Institute, set the scene by presenting new methodologies for connecting the physical science and economic data to support the development of national adaptation plans. In her talk Rosalind drew attention to the new World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) My Climate Risk Light House Activity, of which Walker is one of the 14 regional global hubs, and the development of science-based groundwater futures in the Volta Basin, West Africa.

Programme

16:45-16:55 | Welcoming remarks

  • Lord Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State (Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), UK
  • Dr. Hani Sewilam, Minister of Water Resources & Irrigation, Egypt

16:55-17:10 | Science keynote

  • IPCC assessment of climate change implications for water security – Professor Richard Betts, University of Exeter & UK Met Office

17:10-17:20 | Moving from risk to resilience.

  • Professor Rosalind Cornforth, Walker Institute, University of Reading

17:20-17:25 | Introducing the Expanded Water Tracker for National Climate Planning

  • Ms. Kelsey Harpham, AGWA

17:25-17:55 | Moderated discussion: Water resilience as the key to effective climate action

  • Moderator: Dr. Vidhisha Samarasekara, IWMI
  • Nepal – Ms. Sarita Dawadi, Joint Secretary and Executive Director of the Water Resources Research Development Center, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation
  • Palestine – Ms. Ibtisam Abuhaija, Director of Climate Change and Drought Management, Ministry of Agriculture
  • Lagos, Nigeria – Dr Folayinka Dania, Chief Resilience Officer, Lagos State Resilience Office
  • Panama – Nicole Francisco, Department of Climate Change, Panama Ministry of Environment
  • Asian Development Bank – Arghya Sinha Roy, Principal Climate Change Adaptation Specialist
  • Green Climate Fund – Dr Amgad Elmahdi, Water Sector Lead

17:55-18:10 | Q&A with virtual and in-person audience

18:10-18:15 | Closing

  • Arghya Sinha Roy, Principal Climate Change Adaptation Specialist, ADB