Climate Inequities in Knowledge and Insight

Climate equity and justice are still growing as policy and political issues. Pakistan made these arguments very eloquently in regard to the massive flood events in the Indus basin this year. The emergence of a “loss and damage” fund was a clear outcome from UNFCCC COP27 for the same reason.

These statements assume that climate justice is primarily a matter of directly observable climate impacts. Increased typhoon intensity in the Philippines, heightened coastal erosion in Canada, or extreme drought in Mexico demand a compensation mechanism, since these impacted communities did not contribute much to current atmospheric concentrations of carbon. I am glad we are finally seeing policy and financial responses to these concerns.

However, the technical water community — represented by the AGWA Guide newsletter — can more rapidly and effectively address another kind of inequity: that of knowledge. Indeed, wealth, prosperity, and investment often thrive on an unequal distribution of trends and data, which are the prerequisites for insight and action. A serious challenge we face as professionals is ensuring that our efforts to reveal, inform, and influence through our analyses and tools can be heard by all of the parties who need that information. Otherwise, the information gap can turn the gap in resilience into a gaping, toothy maw.