Media Advisory: The Untold Story – Ministers Discuss Water in Climate Change Adaptation

What: 

High-level event to announce the findings of new GWP report with insights from over 80 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) on national development plans and frameworks. 

This is followed by a next-day Press Conference on the same topic.

When: 

Monday 10 December, 11:00-12:15 Polish local time (High-Level Event)

Tuesday 11 December, 10:30-11:00 Polish local time (Press Conference)

Where:

Monday in NDC Partnership Pavilion, Hall E (High-Level Event)

Tuesday in Press Conference Room Warszawa, Area B (Press Conference)

Live broadcast: https://unfccc-cop24.streamworld.de/webcast/the-untold-story-of-water-in-climate-change-adapta

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 Cover of GWP reportGWP and invited high-level panelists will reveal details of a new analysis on the NDCs at a launch event on 10 December in Katowice. In addition to GWP executives, among confirmed speakers are H. E. Nezha El Ouafi, Minister of Environment, Morocco & Co-Chair of NDC Partnership, as well as Dr. Maheshwar Dhakal, Joint-Secretary & Head of Climate Change Management Division, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal. Full details of the event are available here.

As the UN climate change conference continues in Katowice, Poland, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa this week spoke about the link between the NDCs and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): "A recent analysis of NDCs found that water is critical for adaptation for countries, but the same analysis found that the majority of countries are not mentioning the need for integrated approaches, and a comparison with SDG performance shows they are not on track to achieve their goals."

Ms. Espinosa’s statement sums up GWP’s new report. “Think before you act,” said GWP Executive Secretary Monika Weber-Fahr summing up the report: “Fewer than 60% of those countries analyzed have prioritized institution building in water. Less than a third - 26% - embrace integrated water resources management as an approach. There are reasons for concern that with poor or inadequate management approaches, forging ahead with major infrastructure investments can have counterproductive results.”

Following the high-level launch event, on 11 December, a press conference is held on The Untold Story of Water in Climate Change Adaptation. The panelists are: 

Monika Weber-Fahr, Executive Secretary – GWP

Trevor Thompson, Regional Chair - GWP Caribbean

Amadou Hama Maiga, Regional Chair - GWP West Africa

Robert Bradley, Director of Knowledge and Research - NDC Partnership

Betsy Otto, Global Director, Water - World Resources Institute

Maggie White, Senior Manager - Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

Please note that both events are broadcast LIVE (with recording available afterwards). The high-level event on the NDC Partnership Facebook page and the Press Conference on UNFCCC's website. The full report will be published here & distrubuted widely on Monday morning 10 December - for advance copies please note media contacts below.

For media interviews in connection to either event, please contact:

Eva Blässar, Writer & Media Officer, GWP, Tel. +46 (0)76 677 8635, E-mail: eva.blassar@gwp.orgEva is also available onsite in Katowice.

Steven Downey, Head of Communications, GWP, Tel. +46 (0)76 677 8640, E-mail: steven.downey@gwp.org