Video remarks
9th Meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to join the 9th Meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water. I would like to thank the OECD and UN-Water for organizing this important event and thank WMO for arranging the venue.
The lack of finance is one of the main barriers to achieving SDG 6 and other water-related Goals and targets. Annually, hundreds of billions to one trillion US dollars are required for water supply and sanitation, flood protection, irrigation and other water resources management.
To fill these financing gaps, we need additional investment from private and public sources. And we need to use existing funding mechanisms more effectively.
Financing SDG 6 must form part of a well-balanced and holistic approach to water issues. The SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework, launched by UN-Water in 2020, inlcudes¡±financing¡± as one of the five cross-cutting accelerators, along with Data and information, Capacity development, Innovation, and Governance.
Effective financing requires good governance and strong institutions with capacities to properly manage funded projectsAnd then needs and perspectives of vulnerable and marginalized communities must be accounted for, if we are to no one behind.
New investments should be risk-informed, improving the short-term sitution while building long-term resilience, including resilience to looming climate change impacts.
Dear colleagues,
The United Nations 2023 Water Conference to be held 22 to 24 March at UN Headquarters in New York, will present a critical platform for advancing progress across all facets of the water agenda.
The Conference aims to generate concrete actions and commitments to advance the global water agenda and secure transformative change at all levels. It will make an important contribution to the SDG Summit in September.
The UN 2023 Water Conference will be inclusive, action-oriented and cross-sectoral, bringing together Heads of State and Government, Ministers and other high-level representatives of governments, the UN system other international organizations and a wide range of stakeholders. The General Assembly has accredited over 1,200 organizations representing civil society, youth, women, and the private sector, among others.
The main outcomes of the Conference will be a summary of the Conference proceedings and a Water Action Agenda that will capture the ambitious new commitments from Member States, the UN system, international organizations and stakeholders.
Financing these ambitious commitments will be critical for the success of the Water Action Agenda. I therefore hope that every financial institution will participate in the Conference at the highest possible.. I look forward to meeting you in New York next month.
I thank you.