"The climate crisis is a water crisis"

 Welcome to my final blog post. The title of this post is a quote from the Chief Executive of Water Aid, Tim Wainwright, and I found that it really resonated with me. Such a short quote speaks volumes, yet the message is so often overshadowed by more mainstream issues such as fossil fuel emissions. That is why I will be dedicating this final post to COP 28 and my thoughts on the future. 


Figure 1: The President of COP 28, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber

My previous post focused on COP 27, the African COP. I will now be moving on to the more recent discussions in Dubai at COP 28. Beginning with the positives from the conference, the African Water Facility headed events on 'Water Security for Climate Resilience in Africa', drawing the world's attention to such vital matters. Bringing this topic to a global stage is crucial. Additionally, 195 nations committed to "transitioning away" from the use of fossil fuels, something that took 28 conferences to agree on! However, this is where the controversy begins. The loose term 'transition' could act as a loophole with no definitive metric to hold nations accountable for their progress. Also, the appointed president of COP 28, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, is an oil tycoon who claims that there is "no science" behind the transition away from fossil fuels, and it will force the world back into caves. It continued to get worse as the UN body failed to clarify if demonstrations outside the conference would be safe or if they would be subject to fines reaching £200,000 under emirate law. This excludes the voices of thousands of activists in the climate conversations. A similar problem is expected at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, next year, where protests are likely to be banned, and coincidently, their economy is also heavily built upon fossil fuels. 


Figures 2 & 3: Bottom and Top 10 African countries with access to basic drinking water supplies, respectively (Nhamo et al., 2019). 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) are supposed to be achieved by 2030. However, SDG 6...

..."Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all"... (Chitonge et al., 2020)

... is simply becoming unachievable within the timeframe (Nhamo et al., 2019). Over 400 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still remain without access to basic drinking water services, as can be seen visually in Figures 2 and 3. These statistics are extremely alarming. The future of sustainable water usage and development globally is rather pessimistic, however, even more so in Africa given their already existing vulnerabilities.

My final thought to leave with the readers of this blog is that this situation cannot be ignored. Climate change has become inevitable, and finances need to be urgently redirected to building and maintaining infrastructural projects that enable societies to adapt. This is not a problem for future generations; it needs to be addressed immediately. 

Comments

  1. G31 December 2023 at 03:33

    Hey! Nice final post. Your ideas about the locations and economies of COP 28 and COP 29 were interesting, and I think your call for action at the end is a valuable point to end on!

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    1. Charlotte Sheridan Tray31 December 2023 at 06:17

      Hello again G. Thank you so much for staying up to date with the posts in this series, I really appreciate it. Im glad you also enjoyed this post, I. became particularly passionate when reading about the issues surrounding COP 28 and 29 as I think it is important these conferences don't just become symbolic but do actually enact real change. I feel personally invested in these issues so I'm glad you too were able to appreciate this post! Thank you again for your comments.

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  2. Sarah Cassin5 January 2024 at 01:57

    Hi Charlotte, what a great final blog. And i must say what a joy it had been to read your blog over the last few weeks! i have really enjoyed seeing your narrative develop and exploring these issues whilst following along! I agree wholeheartedly with your ending paragraph too! this is a current generation issue (And also not an 'Africa only' issue) and I hope that it is addressed with high priority

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    1. Charlotte Sheridan Tray5 January 2024 at 03:46

      Thank you so much Sarah for keeping up with all my blog posts, your support has been immense! I'm so glad you have enjoyed them all and have agreed with the points I have made throughout. I completely agree and would also like to emphasise that this is not an 'Africa only issue'! They have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis yet are feeling its impacts disproportionately. I too hope this is addressed with high priority, and that such calls for this to happen reach those with the powers to enable real change.

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  3. Beth Tanner5 January 2024 at 12:33

    Hi Charlotte! This is very interesting that you point out no only this COP has been in the UAE with the head of an oil company leading it, but yet again next year we may be facing a similar situation in Azerbaijan. Do you feel these COPs will be worth it? Or as we near closer and closer to the ever looming tipping point are these just wasting valuable time?

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    1. Charlotte Sheridan Tray6 January 2024 at 03:39

      Hello Beth! Unfortunately I do think that COP may be becoming more and more symbolic and less about making changes to help stop climate change. I think this can be shown through the choice's in location for COP whose nations agenda clearly revolves around the use of fossil fuels and also that it has taken 28 conferences to agree on something as basic as a 'transition away' from the use of fossil fuels. I think this could have been done in a much more timely manor as the science has shown us this is what was needed years ago! Without sounding too defeatist I do think that the tipping point is looming very close and drastic action needs to be taken urgently if we are to meet existing climate targets.

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  4. Elizabeth Wales6 January 2024 at 11:28

    What a compelling way to end your blog series! Thanks so much Charlotte for your blogs, I've learnt so much and I can really see how strongly you feel about climate change - I hope the future becomes more bright!

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    1. Charlotte Sheridan Tray7 January 2024 at 13:14

      Thank you so much for following along with this blog series! I'm thrilled you enjoyed them!

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