Not so wonderful Copenhagen

A man standing in an empty water drainage pit in Tigray, Ethiopia

Credit: WaterAid / Caroline Irby

23 December 2009

After almost two weeks of discussions at the Copenhagen Climate Summit, world leaders came to an international agreement for tackling climate change that no country was "entirely satisfied" with, according to US officials.

The outcome - a decision to "take note of" an accord drawn up by a core group of heads of state on Friday evening - is far from the legally binding treaty which some had expected and for which many had hoped.

The Copenhagen Accord recognises the need to keep temperature rises to no more than 2ºC, but does not contain any commitments to reducing emissions in order to achieve that goal. The crucial subject of water didn’t even figure in the discussions and there were no real signs that Copenhagen's delegates would make water adaptation strategies a priority.

Climate change is a real and present danger, and those most vulnerable to this threat are people who have contributed the least to this problem. WaterAid works in two of the poorest regions of the world – sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia – where the impact of climate change is already felt among the poorest communities. 
 
Today 883 million people lack access to safe drinking water and two and a half billion to adequate sanitation. At root, this is a crisis driven by inequity rather than a scarcity of natural or other resources – as such it is absolutely vital that governments act now to meet the basic rights of their citizens.

The impact of climate change on water stands to further exacerbate existing inequities as well as threatening the water security of millions more. One UN estimate is that by 2080, an additional 1.8 billion people will be living in a water scarce environment.

It is clear from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that climate change will have significant impacts on water resources and access to drinking water and sanitation, but where and how these impacts will be felt is less clear. The projections for rainfall, evaporation and run-off show a high degree of variability across countries and regions. All these impacts, whether they are long-term water stress or an increased frequency of storms and flooding, will be keenly felt by those who have limited or no access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, pushing more and more into water poverty. 

In response to this, WaterAid has developed its responses to minimise the impact.

The Copenhagen Accord promises to deliver $30bn (£18.5bn) of aid for
developing nations over the next three years and outlines an aim of providing
$100bn a year by 2020 to help poor countries cope with the impacts of climate
change.

What remains to be seen is whether any of that aid will go towards supporting adaptation strategies to protect existing water and sanitation systems, as well as expanding access to climate-resilient water and sanitation services for all.

Notes to editors:

• WaterAid's vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation
  
  
• Our mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world's poorest communities
  
  
• We work with partners and influence decision-makers to maximise our impact