COP29: A declaration for water on the shores of the Caspian Sea

It wasn’t the most auspicious start. First there were lobbying scandals, then very public snubs by Papua New Guinea and France, and finally a very bad smell in the media centre. But in the final account, there are reasons Azerbaijan can be proud of COP29, and maybe even hopeful.

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ON THE face of it, a small former soviet petrochemical state seems like a curious host for the world’s most important annual climate change conference. But if you look at Azerbaijan through the lens of water, rather than carbon, it is rather apt.

Because for all its oil riches, like many other developing, and developed, countries around the world, Azerbaijan is a country in the grips of a water crisis that it will struggle to manage alone.

So, with Azerbaijan as a suitable case for reflection, here are a few of my water highlights from the last two weeks in Baku. And why I think water-scarce states like theirs might play a key role and take cautious heart.?

A commitment to climate response

First, there’s the hefty $1.3 trillion annual funding target to help poorer countries cope with the effects of climate change.

Although it’s almost certainly not enough, it is still a big commitment from the relatively small number of countries who’ll fund about a quarter of it ($300bn, mainly in Europe and the US). And all the more impressive given the struggle some of those incumbent governments will have selling the idea to voters at home.

The burden of past pollution shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of today’s taxpayers alone, which is why it’s right that more countries and more private corporations step up and play their part. I don’t want to talk about carbon, but the other big news from COP was the agreement on carbon markets. This is also an opportunity to direct funds to help the worst hit communities. I’ll come back to how we increase private investment in water a bit later.

Given the financing will take until 2035 to fully materialize, I feel sure there will be more to come on this at future COPs, especially as the new agreement paves the way for more states to step up.

Developing countries which rely heavily on income from fossil fuel production, like Azerbaijan, are currently protected from the economic impacts of climate change response measures by the UN Convention. The final draft encouraged such countries to make contributions on a voluntary basis. They absolutely should.

A shot in the arm for water cooperation

Second, a major acknowledgment at an international climate conference of the criticality of water to the environment, our economies, societies and world security!

The new Baku Declaration on Water Climate Action commits countries with transboundary sources to work together to protect the shared freshwater habitats which safeguard the yield and quality of the water we need.

This is not before time. In an increasingly insecure world, transboundary water disputes must be avoided at all costs. The delicate balance of water availability and the habitats that keep it clean can only be guaranteed through cooperation.

As a case in point, some 78 per cent of the water Azerbaijan’s population and large agricultural sector needs comes from rivers which originate way beyond its borders. Upstream demand in Georgia, Iran and Armenia coupled with lower rain and snowfall due to climate change is decreasing water availability. At the same time, Azerbaijan’s creaking water system is struggling to hold on to the water it does have. Around 40% is lost to leaks.

The Baku declaration gives countries with transboundary sources until 2030 to work together and make sure resources are used sustainably and efficiently. With the strain in communities already showing, this sounds like too long.

New technologies may offer a fast-track to getting their own houses in order.

A timely intervention for climate tech

Which leads me to my third highlight, the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action.?

Few technologies offer as much scope as artificial intelligence in connecting vast disparate data sets and interpreting it to build capacity in global water networks. This goes for everything from understanding demand cycles, to better water network management, crisis response and even data-driven negotiation.

Once we unlock it, big data could inject certainty into collaborative interventions in response to inter-community water conflicts.

But lack of transparency in the green AI sector over its own climate impacts and low levels of digital literacy currently threaten to derail this potential.

We at FIDO have already proven how AI can be part of the solution to water scarcity and are working to improve our green credentials even more.

The new declaration sheds more light on this important issue at a critical time and will work through future COPs to provide mutual support among digital, energy and climate policies and goals.

A new safeguard against greenwashing

My last highlight is the launch of the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) new ESG Implementation Principles. Now, this might not float everyone’s boat, but it did mine.

To put it into context, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing will contribute enormously to the rest of that $1.3tn climate rescue package I mentioned earlier. But ESG is a field that’s developed rapidly (and differently) in many sectors, without a common agreement on what to measure and how to measure it.

That makes it hard for both investors and investees to know where to focus, and can lead to unnecessary trade-offs and unsubstantiated claims.

Drafted with the help of over 2,000 experts, the new ISO principles provide universal guidelines which standardize how organisations of all sizes define, implement, and measure ESG activities.

I work with many leading corporations who know they have a key role to play in protecting themselves and their communities from climate change, and are willing to put their money where their marketing is. Witness several recent outcries against water bottling plants in areas affected by water scarcity.

These guidelines, and the move to make ESG activities more consistent and comparable generally, can only be good news for corporations with operations in communities on the front-line of the climate crisis.

It will make it easier for all companies to join the likes Microsoft and Coca Cola in using their ESG activism to improve local water availability for all.

Find out how corporations are using ESG investing to deliver rapid, transparent, local AI-led water leak reduction with FIDO Plus.