UN Water Conference 2023 Reflection
The UN Water Conference 2023, held in New York, was the first water conference to take place in 46 years. Being able to partake in this historic moment was a privilege, albeit an eye- opening, exhilarating, and sometimes hopeless experience. Issues surrounding clean water for drinking and sanitation, transboundary water cooperation and conflict, water for sustainable development, etc., are not given the attention and importance that is needed. Without addressing issues surrounding water, we will never be able to succeed in the fight against climate change, as water is key to building resilience in tackling and adapting to the climate crisis. Hence, it was encouraging to see that the conference was attended by almost 10,000 people, both virtually and in-person. However, the disheartening fact, as mentioned by the moderator of the side event, “’Water’ We Doing: Private sector engagement to end the water crisis” was that the conference was attended by only 13 heads of state.
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“Let’s work for water, so that water can work for us”: UN Water Conference 2023
From March 22 to 24, thousands of UN officials, delegates from across the world, and interested parties flooded the UN headquarters in New York City for the first UN Water Conference in 46 years. I fit into the last category of participants–a curious UEP student offered a temporary UN pass and the opportunity to take a front row seat to the international conversation on water action.
With dozens of events to choose from & topics from science diplomacy and youth water action to the role of the private sector in the blue economy, it was easy to get swept up in high-level dialogues between national representatives swapping commitments to sustainable water management. Given a seat at the table, I strove to find a common thread or a concrete lesson that, when the hustle and bustle of the conference calmed, I could carry with me into my academic and professional life. Listening to so many incredible stories and accomplishments from nations and organizations across the globe, the common thread became clear-–no one can do this alone.
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Reflecting on the UN Water Conference
To say that attending the 2023 UN Water Conference was an exciting experience is an understatement. This was partly owing to the fact that this was the first UN Water Conference held in more than 40 years; thus, there was a palpable feeling of enthusiasm among stakeholders in the weeks before the conference. The intent of the event was not ratifying an international treaty or specific resolution, but rather to re-ignite the conversation about the importance of water in the context of climate change – a conversation that is often overlooked.
A fact that was frequently repeated at the conference was that extreme events relevant to the water cycle (whether floods, droughts, etc.) were responsible for around 70% of the impact humans experience as a result of climate change, yet the share of climate finance addressing water hovers around 3%. The conference repeatedly shed light on this gap and highlighted that climate action necessitates interventions in the water sector.
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CREATE Fellowship: Developing Transformative Membrane Filters
Billions of people drink contaminated water. This is one of the leading causes of severe water-borne diseases that lead to 502,000 deaths each year and heavily burden healthcare systems, accounting for up to 80% of all hospitalizations in some regions in the world. Therefore, clean, safe, and affordable drinking water is a critical resource for public health and environmental sustainability. In recent decades, an increasing number of world regions are suffering from water scarcity. Thus, developing new technologies that enable cheaper, more efficient water treatment and reuse are in great demand.
Membranes are expected to play a progressively more significant role in providing clean drinking water from natural resources such as surface water (lakes, rivers, streams) and ground water (wells, aquifers). Membrane filters are more economic, energy efficient, and produce higher quality and more reliable effluent than most other water purification methods. However, current commercial membranes are not equipped with the required properties to perform many of these separations in an effective and enduring manner. This is largely due to fouling, the accumulation of unwanted material on the membrane surface and pores, which leads to lower productivity, declining effectiveness, and shorter membrane life cycle.
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The World’s Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Has the Potential to be a Good News Story
The gas, known as SF6, is the most potent greenhouse gas (GHG) on earth. SF6 has 22,800 times CO2’s warming potential over a 100-year period, and it stays in the atmosphere for 3,200 years without degrading. SF6 is primarily used as an insulator in electrical equipment (70% of emissions come from the sector), entering the atmosphere when the equipment leaks or needs to be repaired. This presents a catch-22 for climate mitigation: the more electrical grids are expanded to accommodate renewable energy, the more SF6 will be emitted down the line. The EPA predicts that global SF6 emissions from electric power systems will increase 34% between 2015 and 2030.
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