United Nation Climate Change conference (COP28)

A bit of history

Until the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2015 in Paris, It seemed that water was invisible. Agriculture, energy and forestry were (rightfully) recognized as the sole (wrongfully) key sectors to consider when addressing climate changes. Water was simply not an issue. Weirdly enough, since it is hard to imagine irrigating fields, cooling power plants or halting desertification with water out of the equation…

Of course, COP21 was a milestone in the history of global climate negotiations, as the Paris Agreement marked the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate change agreement. But it also was a milestone for the place granted to water at the Climate COPs.
At this occasion, and along with a wide range of partners, the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) pushed hard to make the voice of water heard in the international climate community. INBO launched the “Paris Pact on water and adaptation to climate change in the basins of lakes, rivers and aquifers”, which provides a set of principles and recommended measures and includes a call to actions, relayed by its 360 signatory organizations. INBO also joined forces with 20 organizations for the #ClimateIsWaterCampaign, led by the World Water Council (WWC) and the French Water Partnership (FWP).
In this context, and under the framework of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda (a global climate action agenda by non-State actors, launched under the patronage of the Peruvian and French presidencies of the COP), the first official high level event on water in the history of the COPs was co-organized by INBO and its partners of the dedicated “Water Content Group”.

INBO was since then involved in each of the COPs, and in the definition and implementation of the water component of the Global Climate Action Agenda (which, since the COP22 that was held in Morocco, has taken the name of “Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action”, or MPGCA). Along with a myriad of thematic events, INBO co-organized with the “Water Content Group” each of the yearly editions of the “Water Action Event”, as is now called the official high level event on water initiated in Paris in 2021. It is also a partner of the Water & Climate Pavilion.

Water at COP28

Joining forces works. This diverse initiatives with a wide range of partners have contributed to give a greater attention to water. States are urged to prioritize action on water and climate, by INBO, along with other major international organizations:

• French Water Partnership
• Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion with the French Water Agencies
• SIWI 
• IWMI
• AGWA
• World Water Council
• Entreprises pour l'Environnement (EpE) - Companies for the Environment
• French Development Agency (AFD)
• Ministry of Public Works and Water of the Kingdom of Morocco
• Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)
• Sahara and Sahel Observatory
• Global Water Partnership (GWP)
• Green Climate Fund (GCF)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

List of events organized and co-organized by INBO

INBO also brings its contribution to make sure that water holds a prominent place at this COP27. INBO is organizing seven events on water and adaptation to climate change

Detailed Plan of the Blue Zone (French Pavilion & Water Pavilion)

All the programmes are detailed in the "Programme" tab on the left of the page, or can be downloaded here. 

• Sunday 3 December, 9.30am - 11.00am- INBO-EpE-AFD - France pavilion event Mobilizing and financing adaptation to climate change: dialogue between donors, businesses and basins - English <> French 

• Sunday 10 December, 9:30 to 11:00- Moroccan Pavilion event (building 57, level G) - Ministry of Equipment and Water of the Kingdom of Morocco, UpM, INBO, WWC - Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus: Towards a resilient and prosperous future in the context of climate change  - English
• Sunday 10 December, 10-11 am : MPGCA Water Action Event - SIWI, AGWA, IWMI, INBO with the support of the Climate Champions team - Taking Stock of Climate Action on Water - Hydrating Climate Action (Action Arena – Al Hur/Amphitheatre 1 in zone B7, building 92)  - English

• Monday 11 December 2023, 11:30-13:00 - Official UNFCCC -  OSS-CME-RIOB From incubation to financing for adaptation: accelerating the development of water & climate project - English <> French

• 11th December (all day) - PFE, GWP, GCF (INBO as partner) - "Transforming Climate Finance” - English

Our messages

Water is the first victim of climate change. Climate change primarily affects our societies through the water cycle, with unpredictable rainfall patterns, aquatic ecosystems degradation, altered river flows, sea level rise-induced salinization of coastal groundwater, more frequent and intense floods and droughts. These impacts cascade down to every aspects of our lives, threatening our health, our energy security, our food security, and pushing hundreds of millions of people to migrate in the coming decades.

In other words, climate is water.

And water also is part of the solution to climate challenges. In particular, planning an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at basin level loosen the threatening stranglehold of climate change impacts on all water uses. It helps to design and implement at the right scale measures intended to reduce water demand, to develop non-conventional water resources, to prevent floods & droughts or to choose the right balance and combination of green and grey infrastructures for adaptation to climate changes.