Human-caused climate change is real and accelerating, creating new challenges for all aspects of freshwater management. Important gaps in our understanding of these challenges include both the complications climate change poses for planning, implementing, and sustaining water supply and sanitation (WSS) systems, especially for the poor; and the links between these systems and the emissions of greenhouse gases that worsen the overall climate problem. This paper addresses these gaps.
• Section 1 examines the energy and greenhouse gas implications of expanding access to safely managed water and sanitation.
• Section 2 presents current understanding of the climate impacts affecting water resources and built water systems and assesses these impacts in the context of specific WSS interventions.
• Section 3 explores the effects of climate shocks on the ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to water for the world’s poor (SDGs 6.1 and 6.2).
• Section 4 evaluates opportunities for green finance and microfinance to reduce climate-related risk. Each section offers recommendations for making WSS systems more resilient to climate change and expanding access to critical funding
