United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

During the High-Level Panel on Water and Climate Change, organized by the National Water Commission of Mexico (CONAGUA) and held as part of the 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), participants recognized the importance of including water as a crosscutting issue in the climate change debate which can shed a new light on negotiations, and emphasized the experience of the international water community in the implementation of local solutions, a key aspect for adaptation actions.

In a final recap of all the discussions held during the Dialogs for Water and Climate Change (D4WCC), an event held over December 1, 2, 3 and 6 in parallel to COP 16, José Luis Luege Tamargo, Director General of the CONAGUA, informed attending panelists that the effects of climate change are mostly felt in the water cycle, through extreme hydrometeorological phenomena, but also in terms of greater variability in water resources quality and quantity, with consequent affectations for other economic sectors, such as food production, power generation and natural protection.

The High-Level Panel on Water and Climate Change brought together renowned figures such as Yolanda Kakabadse, Chair, WWF International; Michel Jarraud, Secretary General, World Meteorological Organization; Luis Alberto Moreno, President, IADB; Maria Mutagamba, Minister of Water and Environment, Uganda; Anders Berntell, Executive
Director, Stockholm International Water Institute; Simon Brooks, Vice President, European Investment Bank; Rachel Kyte, Vice President, International Finance Corporation; Laura Tuck, World Bank; Tim Kasten, Vice-Chair, UN-Water/UNEP; and Henk van Schaik, Cooperative Programme on Water and Climate (CPWC). The debate was moderated by the World Economic Forum.

This panel was the pinnacle of the Dialogs promoted by the CONAGUA and a multistakeholder coalition, with the mission of placing different aspects related to Integrated Water Resources Management as an ideal measure for the mitigation of and adaptation to water-related effects of climate change.

In this regard, the representative of José Ángel Gurría, Secretary General of the OECD, called to strengthen water governance for climate change adaptation, as a much less expensive measure, since without water the goals set in terms of carbon capture will be impossible to achieve, thus compromising sustainable human development.