Today’s Extreme Weather May Be Tomorrow’s ‘Normal’, Says Deputy Secretary-General, Warning that Half of World’s People Will Face Water Scarcity by 2050

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the side event on “Building a Resilient Future through Water:  Connecting the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement”, in New York today:

Thank you all for coming here to discuss the crucial issue of water, “the source of life”.  I am especially grateful to colleagues and friends in the Swedish Mission and the SIWI [Stockholm International Water Institute] for bringing us together.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply engaged on the issues we are discussing today.  He is a champion of sustainable development and climate action.  But, you may not realize that he is also an amateur calligrapher.  The Secretary-General is fond of writing a meaningful phrase in Chinese characters.  I will not try to pronounce it, but the translation is simple: “The highest virtue is like water.”  Water represents wisdom, growth and flexibility.  At the same time, water can represent vehement and overpowering force.  We see this in the devastation of floods and cyclone waves in parts of the world.  The challenge is to harness the power of water, prepare to avoid or minimize the dangers.

Water lies at the nexus between sustainable development and climate action.  To realize the effects of climate change, just look at our water resources.  Higher temperatures and extreme weather conditions take their toll on water.  They melt glaciers, redistribute rainfall, alter water flows and deteriorate water quality.  The result is more floods and more droughts.  Often, we see situations with either too little water or too much water.  After a huge flood in Pakistan three years ago, I heard a colleague from the field say:  “Too much water and not a drop to drink.”  Fresh water sources have been largely contaminated.

All these developments affect our ecosystems, our economic growth and our progress as a human family.  By 2050, more than half the world’s population is expected to live under water-scarce conditions.  This is a staggering figure with repercussions across both the national and the international agenda.  Today’s extreme weather events may regretfully be tomorrow’s normal.  If we are to achieve sustainable development, we have to better manage water resources and better adapt to climate change in relation to water.

I claim that we have a monumental task ahead.  The problems we have seen so far will only be amplified, if we do not take drastic positive action.  In the realm of peace and security, extremist groups have already waged war over water.  I have seen myself how militias in Darfur would poison wells to chase people to IDP [internally displaced persons] camps and to take over villages.  Also, nearly 150 countries share at least one river basin.  This is a crucial cross-border issue and challenge requiring good international cooperation, which is also in the national interest.

For health, clean water is essential to survival.  Thousands of children die every day from water-borne diseases.  These needless deaths are a stain on our global conscience.  Climate change will, by every year, put more strain on water-resource management.  It will increase uncertainty about water supplies.  The climate challenge affects our earth and all people in multiple ways.  Thus, we need vigorous and comprehensive responses.

Decision makers who deal with water cannot meet this challenge alone.  They need the full engagement of actors in the fields of finance, transport, energy, housing, agriculture, science and more.  Managing water resources is key to addressing climate change.  It is essential for keeping the basic promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “leave no one behind”.

We should be inspired and guided by the fact that water is a transboundary, global issue, which has tremendous potential to unite humanity through collective responses.

World leaders who last year adopted the historic 2030 Agenda are this week coming to New York to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change.  It is highly symbolic and meaningful that the signature ceremony will take place on Mother Earth Day 2016.

This is our moment for ground-breaking transformational change on water, climate change and sustainability.  Let us not fail to deliver.