A joint event by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Global Center on Adaption (GCA) at the World Urban Forum, 4-8 November 2024, Cairo, Egypt 

Date: Tuesday 5 November 2024 
Time: 9am-10:30am Egypt / 7am-8:30am UTC 
Location: SDGs in Action - Room B 
Livestream: Details will be published on the World Urban Forum website closer to the event

Water touches every aspect of development, making it a bedrock of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This panel discussion brings together city leaders, experts and financiers to discuss best practices and solutions for climate adaptation of urban water systems. 

The panel will showcase projects addressing water challenges in urban settings, with a specific focus on urban adaptation measures. It will share how EBRD is leveraging its expertise and financial resources to support innovative solutions and catalyse sustainable urban development, and how Global Center on Adaptation is driving innovation to develop specific approaches that can be mainstreamed by their partners in developing countries. Global Center on Adaptation will also shed light on its water and urban work within its City Adaptation Accelerator. The panel will include unique perspectives from cities on their integration of water adaptation into urban planning and the role of community engagement in building resilient urban water systems. 

As cities and their economies grow, many become climate vulnerability hotspots. Cities feel climate change especially through their water systems, for example through sea-level rise, droughts, or flooding. Their increasing exposure to climate-related hazards challenges cities’ commitment to provide water and sanitation for all by 2030 (SDG 6). This urgently calls for additional dedication to building sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and stepping up climate action (SDG 13). 

EBRD’s countries of operation across North Africa and the Middle East are characterised by acute scarcity of conventional water resources and insufficient water infrastructure. Compounded by population growth, the climatic conditions drive cities to non-conventional water resources such as wastewater reuse or desalination. In Africa, 60 % of the urban population lives in urban informal settlements. Many of the settlements are already affected by the impacts of climate change and particularly women and adolescent girls are in vulnerable positions.  Building climate resilience for these settlements requires a concrete and focused effort from all stakeholders.   
 
About EBRD 
As an International Financial Institution, EBRD is heavily involved in financing urban water solutions. In 2023, EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group signed projects benefitting 1.53 million people from improved water supply and wastewater services (SDG 6), as well 33 projects that build climate adaptation (SDG 13). 
EBRD Green Cities works directly with regions and cities to ensure that impactful and sustainable infrastructure can be delivered in a localised manner. 

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 

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About the Global Center on Adaptation 
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organisation that promotes adaptation to the impacts of climate change. It works to climate-proof development by instigating policy reforms and influencing investments made by international financial institutions and the private sector. The goal is to bring climate adaptation to the forefront of the global fight against climate change and ensure that it remains prominent. 
  
Founded in 2018, GCA embodies innovation in its approach to climate adaptation as well as in its physical presence. It operates from the largest floating office in the world, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. GCA has a worldwide network of regional offices in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Beijing, China. The Center will open a new office in Nairobi, Kenya in 2025. 
 
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