这是近50年来第一次, the United Nations convened a conference dedicated to water that attracted thousands of attendees. 虽然联合国水事会议的目的不是要有一个谈判的结果, representatives from member states, civil society, 商界和非政府组织对该计划作出了700多项自愿承诺 Water Action Agenda aiming to accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and other water-related SDGs.
联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯致开幕词 statement 反映了水危机的紧迫性:Water is in deep trouble; we are draining humanities lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use. 通过全球变暖使其蒸发，我们打破了水循环……”. 他接着强调了治理和金融的重要性, two themes that were picked up by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, 在他们的会前出版物中 扭转局势:呼吁采取集体行动, 它提出了集体行动的七点呼吁, 包括将水循环作为共同利益来管理的必要性, stop underpricing water and phasing out US$ 700 billion of subsidies in agriculture and water each year.
只有12位国家元首出席了会议, which together with a lack of any binding conference outcomes demonstrates that there is still some way to go for water to be prioritized on the political agenda. However, business was well represented with numerous sessions addressing private sector collective action on the Water Action Agenda. A 国际水资源管理联合声明 was put forward to demonstrate alignment amongst a number of organizations (including WBCSD) that support corporate water stewardship activities.
WBCSD的贡献集中于 加快企业对水的问责、雄心和行动 and provided opportunities for member companies to showcase their commitments and actions.
企业对淡水的责任
While government action to enact the policies necessary to drive progressive business action is often slow, 企业必须制定雄心勃勃的用水目标, demonstrating progress and disclosing water-related risks and opportunities in a robust and transparent way.
To guide companies in navigating this emerging accountability system, WBCSD launched the 淡水问责加速器 ahead of the Conference, set up to guide companies through this emerging accountability system for water.
在水务署召开的会外活动中, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) shared water insights from their recent Nature Benchmark该报告评估了400多家公司的业绩. The analysis revealed that a mere 13% of companies have set time-bound targets to reduce water withdrawal in their operations and reported against them, 只有16%的人透露他们对缺水地区的依赖, and less than 5% have disclosed the proportion of withdrawals made from these water-stressed areas.
This highlights the importance of tools such as the 淡水问责加速器, 哪些可以帮助企业采取行动. With the release later this year of the first Science Based Targets (SBT) for nature methods and the 与自然有关的财务披露特别工作组 (TNFD) recommendations, 这两种方法都将水纳入了研究范围, 一个水资源问责制开始出现.
Greater ambition for water quality
Water quality issues often receive less attention than water quantity in public policy and corporate action. 为此，WBCSD在2020年发起了一项名为“零废水:呼吁企业采取行动，提高正规博彩十大网站排名目标6的雄心.3”. This initiative highlighted the impact of untreated wastewater on biodiversity (being a key driver for biodiversity loss), climate (7-10%的人为甲烷排放来自未经处理的废水)和水安全(废水的再利用和循环利用不足).
At the Conference in New York, WBCSD launched two new tools to support business action on water: the Wastewater Impact Guidance and the Wastewater Impact Assessment Tool. Together, these tools will help businesses assess and identify high-impact locations for action and prepare them for the water quality methods of the forthcoming SBTs for nature.
推动地方行动的公私伙伴关系
与出席人数较少的国家元首形成对比, 许多市长和地方领导人出席了会议, 表明在地方一级采取行动的紧迫性. The 50L Home Coalition announced a new phase for initiatives to accelerate water innovation in cities. 这包括资助洛杉矶的一个试点项目, 在加州展示家庭用水和能源创新, and collaboration in tactical pilots to drive water conservation and policy updates in Phoenix, Arizona. 联盟联合主席、亚利桑那州凤凰城市长凯特·加勒戈说:“We are proud to collaborate with 50L Home Coalition members to advance the innovations needed to prepare for our future, 并与其他城市合作，迅速推广新兴解决方案.”
大会主席Csaba Kőrösi在闭幕词中说他重申了会议的九项成果. These include the need to integrate water and climate policy at national and global levels by 2030 and the development of a Global Water Information System to support water, climate and land management. 在秘书长呼吁采取行动之后, the UN also committed to create the institutional architecture for the support of the required transformation, under the SG, which will be managed by a UN envoy for water and supported by an independent scientific and practice panel.
Progress and next steps
In 2022, a significant development occurred as inland waters were included in the final text of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and water was included in the UNFCCC CoP cover decision for the first time.
到目前为止取得的进展将持续到今年, with events such as the UN High-level Political Forum in July and the SDG Summit in September driving momentum and action.
Looking ahead, the next UN Summit on water is scheduled for 2025 and will evaluate the implementation of the Conference and Water Action Agenda outcomes. We are undoubtedly seeing some progress in water moving up the political agenda, albeit slow and patchy. Against this backdrop, we need to ensure that business actions are driven by science-based targets and progress is reported in a consistent and transparent way to give confidence to governments, civil society and investors that business is making a clear contribution to sustainable water management.
Throughout this year, 水务署将继续发展淡水问责加速器, 确保与新出现的框架保持一致，例如面向自然的sbt和TNFD. Additionally, the Wastewater Zero initiative will aim to address important water quality components that are currently not included in the scope of the SBTs for nature freshwater methods.
To find out more and engage in these initiatives, please reach out to Una Harcinovic at harcinovic@volamdolong.com
