Spring Meetings

Description:Exacerbated by climate change, the global water crisis is one of the world’s most urgent multi-dimensional crises. One-tenth of the world’s population already lives in a country with high or critical water stress. Climate change is modifying the water cycle by decreasing predictability and increasing the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, threatening global food security. With half the world’s rivers crossing borders and only one-third having international agreements, tension over transboundary waters is expected to rise. Without radical change, problems of too much, too little, or too polluted water will only increase. An estimated investment of $1.04 trillion is needed per year to deliver sustainable water management in line with the SDGs. Water and irrigation services are predominantly financed by the public sector and private sector participation in lags other infrastructure sectors like energy and transport. Public finances alone are insufficient to achieve the SDGs and more private sector participation is urgently needed both in terms of financing and bringing in more efficiencies and innovative technological solutions. With the right incentives and enabling environments, the private sector can support the urgent transformation and increased level of financing needed to combat the global water crisis. Building on decades of experience and a renewed determination to engage clients and partners to learn from, and scale, what works, the Bank Group also aims to address the complexity and interconnectedness of water and climate change, by strengthening institutional and regulatory frameworks to protect and restore water resources while providing mechanisms and incentives for clients—as well as ourselves—to work across sectors and boundaries. This Knowledge Café explores how the Bank Group plans to accelerate transformation of the sector and increase the levels of financing required to meet our SDGs. *Watch Event| https://www.worldbank.org/knowledgecafe*