COP28: Watering the NDCs and NAPs

The objective of this session is to address the remaining challenges to inclusion of water into NDCs and NAPs, to identify solutions that can facilitate action. While there are examples of countries including water in their NDCs and NAPs, policy makers still experience challenges with successfully integrating water into climate policy planning and implementation. This roundtable will gather actors from across the water community, geographic locations and professions to address the remaining challenges and suggest solutions. 

The discussion will focus on financing and costing. It will address barriers to financing “natural infrastructure solutions” and tackle questions such as why financing water in NDCs and NAPs is a good investment, how funds and countries can work together to unlock the financing and maximise its potential, and lessons learned in this regard.

The roundtable will address how processes can facilitate meaningful stakeholder engagement, where the voices of women, youth, and other often marginalised communities are respected and amplified. In addition, speakers will share success stories and key takeaways on how to work in a cross-sectoral way across administrative levels and transboundary to plan and implement water-integrated climate plans. This includes digging deeper into the technicalities of watering NDCs and NAPs and for instance highlighting the needs in terms of data gathering and analysis as well as holistic assessments of water usage in agriculture, energy and other sectors. It will call attention to the mutual benefits of providing climate-resilient water sanitation infrastructure and services, including safe wastewater management, and the protection and management of surface and groundwater
resources. Stressing the mentioned cross-sectoral connections will facilitate understanding of the linkages between the Paris Agreement and other conventions.