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COP29 Official Side Event | Water resilience for equitable and effective mitigation

Water Resilience for Equitable and Effective Mitigation

Date & Time: 20 November 2024 | 09:30 - 11:00 ET | 18:30 - 20:00 GMT+4

Venue: Side Event Room 7, COP29 Blue Zone

Last year, Parties delivered the UAE Consensus which commits them to collectively tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, substantially reducing non-carbon dioxide emissions, including in particular methane emissions, while accelerating efforts globally towards net zero emission energy systems. Water’s critical role in enabling this transition - whether in the production of renewable energy or ensuring the stability of important carbon sinks such as wetlands and peatlands - is widely acknowledged but has not been widely considered in national climate plans. This omission potentially compromises the 1.5 degree temperature goal and ambition to reach net zero by 2050, should water not be available when, where, and at the right time and quantity it is needed. 

At COP28, the COP Presidency began a dialogue on water in the clean energy transition which we seek to continue in Baku. As Parties formulate ambitious new climate plans in line with the UAE Consensus, this side event will bring together governments, finance institutions, energy experts, and the private sector to discuss how water can support the achievement of the Paris Agreement net-zero target while ensuring that water security for both people and nature is not further compromised. 


This event will be livestreamed - Link TBC


Agenda

Welcoming Remarks

The Rt. Hon. Ed Miliband MP, UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Scene Setting Keynote

Dr. John Matthews, Executive Director, AGWA

Roundtable Discussion

Tony Agotha, EU Special Envoy for Climate and Environment

Chris Chilcott, Science Director, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia

Callist Tindimugaya, Commissioner for Water Resource Planning and Regulation, Uganda

Iara Giacomini, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Brazil

Jerker Tamelander, Director, Science and Policy, Ramsar Convention

Thomas Schroder, Director of Climate, Grundfos

Arghya Sinha Roy, Senior Climate Change Specialist, Asian Development Bank 

Carla Frisch, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Policy, U.S. Department of Energy or Michael Rinker, Senior Technical Advisor, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Organized by

Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, Water Initiative for Net Zero and Stockholm International Water Institute