The Mayor of London and Co-Chair of C40 Cities Sadiq Khan committed to putting water at the heart of the global climate crisis agenda as he joined actor and clean water advocate Matt Damon and his co-founder Gary White of Water.org at The Climate Pledge Summit to address global leaders in New York.
Mayor Khan joined Matt Damon and Gary White at The Climate Pledge Summit last week, to discuss how to build resilient water systems in the face of a changing climate. They talked about how the public, private, and non-profit sectors can partner to expand water access and improve water quality even as floods and droughts become more frequent and severe.
The Climate Pledge Summit brings together leaders from across the globe to share progress, learn from one another, participate in deep-dive discussions, and drive powerful collaboration for climate action. C40 already works closely with The Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism.
By 2050, more than 7.4 million people in C40 cities will be at risk from flooding, potentially costing USD$136 billion in GDP annually over the next 30 years.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of the world could face water shortages by next year, affecting 650 million urban residents by 2050. This could cost C40 cities USD$111 billion annually.
C40 has worked with cities across the Global South to help build resilience to water risks, including:
- Durban, which is restoring river systems through community-led management programs to reduce flood risk and protect ecosystems.
- Rio de Janeiro, which has implemented an emergency protocol using SMS alerts and sirens to direct residents to pre-built shelters during flood events.
- Dhaka North, which is expanding urban green space by 70 per cent and boosting rainwater harvesting facilities to manage rapid growth and enhance flood resilience.
Mayor of London and Co-Chair of C40 Cities Sadiq Khan said:
“More than half of the world’s population live in urban areas which are facing more frequent climate-induced water issues, including drought, flooding, sea-level rise, storms and water pollution.
“I’m pleased to join Matt Damon and Gary White to discuss how C40 Cities and Water.org are working to address these problems which will only get worse as the climate crisis intensifies and disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.
“We must adapt our cities to allow them to continue to be thriving places for communities across the globe. That is why, under my leadership, C40 has chosen to allocate two-thirds of its budget to cities in the Global South, which have done the least to create this crisis, but are bearing the brunt of it.”
Last week Mayor Khan visited the Billion Oyster Project to see first-hand the return of oysters to the Hudson, following on from his bold pledge to clean up London’s rivers over the next 10 years.
Matt Damon and Gary White, Co-founders of Water.org and WaterEquity said:
“As the climate crisis intensifies, Water.org and WaterEquity are accelerating access to scalable, sustainable water and sanitation solutions.
“By mobilising capital through strategic partnerships, we are supporting infrastructure investments that strengthen resilience to climate change and transform the lives of millions by enabling access to the resources they need to survive and thrive.”
