No Rest for Climate & Water

The COP21 Paris Agreement is a clear signal that climate threats are serious. China Water Risk was on-ground in Paris; read our key takeaways on how time is running out to make the transition to a low carbon economy. Inaction only brings growing adaptation costs; but actions taken to keep global temperature rise “well below 2°C” raises financial risks across sectors – we cover these and more in “What Paris Means for China”. Water was recognised as the most vulnerable sector in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Already USD19 billion of economic losses were incurred due to flooding in 2012. With these on the rise, we asked Deltares’ Wouter Jan Klerk to share cases from the Netherlands, China and Vietnam of how flood risk modelling can lower costs and ensure robust growth. The rise of water at COP was also evidenced by the Paris Pact for Water and Adaptation, Delta Coalition and the Megacities Coalition on Water to name a few. A good start but the lack of significant financing commitments to protect key mountain watersheds left us feeling somewhat blue. It comes down to money. We need lots of it to ensure climate resilience. Where will this money come from? Who should pay? Xu Nan from Central University of Finance & Economics takes a closer look. As the largest contributor to global emissions, China can play a key role – World Resources Institute’s Shouqing Zhu & President Andrew Steer share why it can lead the green finance revolution. The hard work has just started. Climate change doesn’t rest and nor should we. Water risks remain pervasive – expect all hands on deck in 2016. Be sure to catch our trends for the soon to be Year of the Money in our newsletter next month.