Hydro Nation Virtual Water Pavilion
Scotland’s Hydro Nation Strategy was established in 2012, to fulfil the statutory duty on Scottish Ministers to ensure “the development of the value of Scotland's water resources". In the context of climate change, this means that we recognise the importance of responsible stewardship of our water resources to delivering an innovative water sector that supports a flourishing low-carbon economy and plays a crucial role in international development support.
The Hydro Nation Virtual Experience highlights some key examples of this activity and features six tours themed on key areas of Scotland’s Hydro Nation delivery. Please take some time to explore the content and immerse yourself in Scotland’s iconic water landscapes.
You will also find a planner and information on key waters-related events at the conference to assist you in planning your COP26 around water.
After a year’s break in 2020, the Macaulay Development Trust and the James Hutton Institute are delighted to announce the return of the TB Macaulay Lecture. Coinciding this year with the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the 43rd TB Macaulay Lecture will be delivered on Tuesday, November 2nd (19:00 UK time) by Christiana Figueres, an internationally recognised leader on global climate change, in conversation with BBC broadcaster Laura Goodwin.
The lecture is held traditionally in Edinburgh but this year it will move to Glasgow to take place alongside COP26. It will be delivered with an in-person audience from Strathclyde University’s Technology and Innovation Centre and streamed live around the world from a bespoke event platform.
Strathclyde University
Technology & Innovation Centre
16 Richmond St
Glasgow, G1 1XQ
According to the latest updates, developed countries are not on track to fulfil their Paris Agreement commitment to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries that came into effect in 2020. Specific efforts to mobilize private finance in developing countries have also stalled. In addition, adaptation continues only receive approximately one quarter of total public climate finance. This leaves the Paris Agreement commitment to balance funding between mitigation and adaptation unmet while the impacts of climate change are felt now, particularly by the most vulnerable countries and communities. It is in these countries where access to basic services such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are the lowest, especially in rural areas.
This conversation will position WASH where it belongs as a part of comprehensive resilience packages and plans. It will do that by highlighting the cost benefits of building the resilience of infrastructure assets and basic social services such as water supply, sanitation and hygiene in low- and middle-income countries, by explaining how climate-resilient WASH aligns with and feeds into broader climate rationale in countries, and by discussing new avenues to team up and work with financiers and the private sector.
Further info at:
https://www.waterforclimate.net/meetings/virtual/payzBcgNatrJo24dE
Find out how Scotland is helping to pioneer floating offshore wind power and make it a viable commercial option.
This event will tell the story of Scotland's role in supporting the journey of floating offshore wind, from research and development, to test and demonstration, to commercial scale deployment.
Register to attend
Register to attend these events on eventsair - a Scottish Government partner website. You'll need to create an account to attend.
The demand for information on the implications of physical climate risk is increasing. Demand is particularly driven by burgeoning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds and investor scrutiny of material climate risks, particularly in the power generation sector. However, quantifying physical climate risks in loan and equity portfolios of power generation assets in a cost-effective way remains challenging. In this event, we will introduce a cost-effective yet comprehensive framework for assessing physical climate risks for power generation project portfolios, that is co-developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Additionally, we will share a pilot study where we apply the framework over EBRD’s current power generation portfolio, and demonstrate how investors can leverage portfolio-level physical climate risk assessment to inform their financial and investment decision making and shift towards a climate resilient future.
Further info at:
https://www.waterforclimate.net/meetings/virtual/K3cebC37d5PvW7QDJ
Bringing together Scotland’s world-leading wave and tidal developers as well as speakers from utilities, finance and the supply chain. Join these sessions to find out more about how we are the global leader in sustainable marine energy generation and our plans for the future.
Session 1: Scotland, world leader in marine
Explores how Scotland’s marine sector got to where it is now. Join us on a journey through time and discover where we want to be in the future.
Chaired by Claire Mack, CEO Scottish Renewables. A full list of speakers to be confirmed.
Register to attend
Register to attend these events on eventsair - a Scottish Government partner website. You'll need to create an account to attend.
Water investments can and must deliver better for both mitigation and adaptation, and for both people and nature. We know what needs to be done, and the time to act is now. Climate finance for water must support and enhance national climate plans – nearly 90% of NDCs prioritise water among their adaptation actions.[1] It must be better targeted to the most vulnerable countries – many of which get only $1 per person, per year in international climate finance for water-related adaptation.[2] It must protect and restore nature: investing in nature-based solutions where they can reduce exposure to flood risks and help retain water in the landscape, thereby reducing the impact of intra-year water variability.[3]
The water community must also help grow the climate finance pot, by demonstrating investable solutions, at scale, and making all water finance flows consistent with low-emissions, climate-resilient development pathways.[4] At the critical juncture at COP26, this session will bring together state and non-state representatives as countries raise ambition and turn to implementable solutions. Together, we will show we have the tools and imagination to ensure climate finance for water is transformative, for both our communities and our environment.
Further info at:
https://www.waterforclimate.net/meetings/virtual/3QQ3QxNdJ2aeL2ueM
Bringing together Scotland’s world-leading wave and tidal developers as well as speakers from utilities, finance and the supply chain. Join these sessions to find out more about how we are the global leader in sustainable marine energy generation and our plans for the future.
Session 2: Marine world leader debate
A panel of experts from across the marine sector will debate ‘Where ocean energy fits in the race to net zero’.
Chaired by Judith Paton, MBE. A full list of speakers to be confirmed.
Register to attend
Register to attend these events on eventsair - a Scottish Government partner website. You'll need to create an account to attend.
People and nature experience climate change through water- by droughts, floods, and extreme weather and their impacts. Ensuring water security is the most effective way to address climate vulnerability and inequalities, and that means that climate financing must flow towards comprehensive water security solutions for all. The Resilient Water Accelerator will support climate-vulnerable communities to secure clean and reliable water resources and services by unlocking new sources of financing and enabling the design of climate-resilient water security programmes, that address threats to resources, ecosystems, access to water and the risks from extreme weather.
Further info at:
https://www.waterforclimate.net/meetings/virtual/KYgdGLoKJexuxHP6s
How can we plan for national economic resilience? In most countries, we lack effective, coherent, and credible strategies for economic resilience across sectors, regions, and levels of governance. Water resilience is one approach to negotiate tradeoffs and avoid traps, even under climatic, pandemic, and economic change and uncertainty.
Over the past decade, many institutions have developed powerful risk and economic assessment tools for investments in infrastructure, ecosystems, and communities that can guide us towards greater local-scale resilience. Recognizing the special roles and risks associated with the water resources embedded within those investments has been key to this progress. We know that resilience has a cost, and that different approaches to resilience will vary in efficacy, reach, coherence, and their resilience dividend. We have choices in how we pursue resilience.
However, these lessons have not scaled up to national levels, even though the global pandemic has provided both global and national stress testing for economic resilience comparable to other extreme threats such as ongoing climate change.
This session will explore how countries can develop national economic resilience strategies that reflect the insights gained from the practice and policy of water resilience, building upon insights from the Dasgupta review on the economics of biodiversity. Organized by the Water Resilience for Economic Resilience (WR4ER) partnership, we will discuss the merits of and need for developing an evidence-based quantitative framework to guide economic planners and decision-makers as they manage social, climatic, economic, and pandemic change and uncertainty.
Further info at: https://www.waterforclimate.net/meetings/virtual/srWXXQDRndtnuor9C
