During COP26, women in developing countries will miss out on 2.5 …..
…million working days due to lack of basic water services
With the climate crisis impacting water availability, WaterAid urges world leaders to meet their $100bn climate finance target sooner than 2023
With COP26 only days away, WaterAid is calling on world leaders to meet their $100 billion climate finance commitment sooner than 2023, as estimates show that just during the 12 days of the summit, women in developing countries will miss out on 2.5 million working days globally due to a lack of basic water services nearby.1
With women and girls usually responsible for collecting water, the lack of these services means they often have to walk for hours to get clean water, leaving them no time to work and no capacity to respond to climate impacts. These impacts can themselves hamper the access even further as water sources become less reliable or flooded and polluted, and journeys get longer.
Earlier this week, rich nations published a Climate Finance Delivery Plan, confirming they won’t deliver on their long-promised target of $100 billion each year to support poorer countries battling the impacts of the climate crisis. The target is expected to be met by 2023, three years later
than promised.
However, WaterAid warned that many people can’t wait that long, as frequent flooding and longer droughts are a matter of life or death for many vulnerable people on the front lines of the climate crisis. Climate change is likely to exacerbating these impacts for millions of people already living without clean water, decent toilets or good sanitation, the organisation said.
During the 12 days of COP26, estimates show the urgent need for action. A lack of basic water means communities on the front line of climate change are already struggling with overlapping crises and it’s costing lives:
8640 children under the age of five around the world could die from diarrhoea caused by dirty water and poor toilets.2
A woman responsible for water collection will spend 60 hours, or 20% of COP26, collecting water for her family of four to drink, cook and wash with.3
2,880 lives of children under five could be saved from diarrhoeal deaths if everyone, everywhere, had access to clean water.4
Bernard Aryeetey, International Affairs Director for WaterAid, said:
“COP26 is just days away and news that rich countries won’t deliver on their promise of $100bn a year for developing nations until 2023 has threatened to derail the summit. World leaders must recognise poorer nations hit hardest by climate change cannot wait two more years as they continue to carry the burden of richer nations’ inaction.”
“Across the globe, mothers and fathers are struggling to ensure their children have access to clean water because of the devastating impacts of floods and droughts caused by climate change.”
“During the 12 days of COP26, women will miss out on 2.5 million working days globally – a figure that could be exacerbated by climate change. Urgent action is necessary and world leaders must see that decisions taken in Glasgow will have the greatest impact on vulnerable communities thousands of miles away.”
In 2009 richer nations, including the UK, committed to supporting poorer nations protect themselves against the effects of climate change by providing $100bn by 2020. Only 80 per cent of this money has been delivered, according to the latest data. In addition, only a fraction – around 25 per cent – is going towards helping communities adapt, while that should be at least half, according to WaterAid.
WaterAid is working with Governments, the private sector, development banks and others to develop the Resilient Water Accelerator, a coalition launched by HRH The Prince of Wales, which aims to increase funding to support the most climate-vulnerable communities around the world to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis. When fully funded, it aims to reach 50 million people in water-stressed areas with climate-resilient water resources and services by 2030.
