Join us for Water Day on 12 November!
Planet Earth in dew, macro on leaf. Conceptual design. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. 
The 12 November Water Day is part of the 9-19 November Race to Zero November Dialogues, supported by the High-Level Champions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Dialogues focus on concrete action from non-state actors from around the world to ensure that the world’s carbon emissions reach net zero by 2050, at the latest.
SIWI, with partner organizations, will host the Dialogue’s dedicated Water Day to raise awareness of how water-related solutions can help us respond to the climate crisis and raise our collective ambitions on climate action. Don’t miss this opportunity to listen to an exciting and diverse set of speakers – follow the Livestream here!
SIWI is also playing a leading role in the development of the Climate Action Pathway for Water, one of ten pathways for key sectors such as Water to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and boosting climate resilience at the pace needed to reach net-zero by 2050. The aim of the Race to Zero November Dialogues is to launch a global movement toward action, as part of a bigger effort to encourage more countries, regions, cities, companies and organizations to join the Climate Ambition Alliance and commit to taking the steps necessary to become carbon-free by mid-century.
The Water Day will be opened by the two High-Level Champions behind the Race to Zero campaign, Gonzalo Muñoz of Chile and Nigel Topping of UK. Participating from SIWI are Torgny Holmgren, Maggie White, Jennifer Jun, Ruth Mathews, and Ziyanda Mpakama.
The impressive speaker line-up for Water Day also includes, among others:
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. UNEP plays an important role to ensure that the world addresses both the climate crisis and the degradation of nature.
Ertharin Cousin, Fellow at Stanford University and former Executive Director of World Food Programme.
Matt Damon, Actor and Co-Founder, Water.org and WaterEquity [by video] and Vedika Bhandarkar, Chief Global Impact Officer, Water.org.
Ma Jun has been named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME magazine, for, among others, his 1999 book China’s Water Crisis which ushered in a new era of environmental awareness in China. Today, Ma Jun leads the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Professor Rockström is one of the world’s foremost thinkers on climate, water and resilience. In 2009 he led the team that developed the concept of Planetary Boundaries that the world cannot afford to transgress. Later, his “carbon law” described a model for a fast transition to a fossil-free economy.
Cardinal Peter Turkson is Pope Francis’s chief advisor on climate change, a topic explored in the Pope’s compelling “Laudato Si” message, Praise Be to You. Cardinal Turkson will talk about integral ecology and integral human development through water.
Akhona Xotyeni is a South African youth activist and environmentalist who advocates for young voices from the Global South particularly those from the most vulnerable populations to be heard in the international climate action arena.
Check out the full agenda here!
The Water Day is organized by SIWI, along with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), UN Global Compact/CEO Water Mandate, and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). The day aims to showcase the water community’s vision of a zero-carbon, resilient future and the water-related tools and solutions needed to win the Race to Zero.
