Why the water sector is now on the frontline of climate change

2015 brought with it a number of erratic and extreme weather events which broke records and challenged the resilience of local communities around the world.

In India 269 people were killed in the worst floods to hit the country in more than a century, a long dry season in Indonesia caused forest fires to spread rapidly, costing the economy $15.7 billion dollars, and the UK experienced its wettest month ever documented in December, with almost twice as much rain than normal. In terms of the global picture 2015 was also the hottest year on record with temperatures 0.75c warmer than the long-term average.

These extreme weather events and global temperature changes were taking place against the backdrop of the UN climate talks in Paris (COP21), where world leaders knew the pressure was on to create a robust climate agreement. At the end of the talks 195 countries agreed to a new deal to limit global temperature rises to well below 2C. But what was absent from the agreement was any mention of water security.

More than 650 million people in the world are without access to clean water and 1.2 billion live in areas of physical water scarcity. All will be made increasingly vulnerable as their fragile water sources are further exposed to climate-related threats. As the vast majority of climate change impacts are manifested through water, at WaterAid we believe the water sector is now on the front line of climate change. It is our responsibility to protect and help communities build resilience to the coming changes.

For the UK water industry, dealing with weather risks is a fundamental part of their business. The importance of building resilience to climate change and to do more to protect people from the increased risk of flooding and drought is moving up the agenda. In 2014, building resilience was made an important part of the Water Act, and there was agreement on the need for coherent planning and funding for resilience at both a national and regional level.

On an international level WaterAid has more than 30 years’ experience of working with climate variability. In the countries in which we work, droughts and floods are not uncommon and it is the communities we work with who are most vulnerable and least able to cope with climate related shocks. Just this time last year, WaterAid launched an emergency relief effort in Malawi after devastating floods washed away piped water systems and left drinking sources flooded and contaminated.

We have also pioneered programmes which help communities deal with climate variability and other threats to water security in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso and Mali. Fundamentally, we are positioning sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene as a critical tool in building resilience to climate change.

Now that we have an international agreement on climate change, urgent action is needed globally to ensure that the commitments made in Paris lead to actions. Pledges to international climate funds for adaptation must be increased so that developing countries are better prepared for the impacts of climate change. Government institutions must be supported to make sure the capacity is there to spend it. But crucially, water must be at the centre of future climate policy as, put simply, climate change is water change.

Find out more about WaterAid’s approach to climate change at www.wateraid.org/climatechange

Miriam Denis-Le-Seve, WaterAid’s policy officer (climate change)