Dear Dr. Arno,

Thank you for your useful and information feedback. Your response has covered many points. I'm sure, your input would be useful to the forum users as well. The link is highly interesting. Thanks again.

Regards,

F H Mughal

Hi Mughal
Here is the final COP21 agreement. As you can imagine individual sectors, technologies and arrangements are not specified and the emphasis is really on creating a ceiling for global warming, a review schedule and setting out the global equity fund. So it is understandable that the words water, sanitation, hygiene, waste, etc. are not in the agreement. The only SDG referred to in earlier versions of the agreement was 13, climate change.

Obviously the WSH sector is relevant to the complex task of saving on water, reducing GG emissions, reusing organics, nutrients, etc. And resilient WSH systems are important in adapting to climate changes like drought and flooding. But the official negotiations weren't at that level.

There were some 200 official side events during the 2 week period and probably many more inofficial ones as well. I encourage you to look through the web link unfccc.int/2860.php .

The next COP (22) will be Nov 7-18, 2016 in Morocco. Maybe the Moroccan government will try to focus on the question of sustainable fertilizer use and organic material recycling as a major feed towards emissions reduction (closing the loop on NPKCS).

Regards

Dear all,

COP21 has ended. I would like to know, what is in it, as far as the sanitation and water sector is concerned.

Can you help? Perhaps, Dr. Arno can step in.

Regards,

F H Mughal

According to the COP21 website:

“In 2015, France will be hosting and presiding the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21/CMP11), otherwise known as “Paris 2015” from November 30th to December 11th. COP21 will be a crucial conference, as it needs to achieve a new international agreement on the climate, applicable to all countries, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C. France will therefore be playing a leading international role to ensure points of view converge and to facilitate the search for consensus by the United Nations, as well as within the European Union, which has a major role in climate negotiations.”
(www.cop21.gouv.fr/)

Perhaps, it might be helpful, if the moderators can make some arrangements to distill the outcomes of the event, as they relate to sanitation and water. How does the COP21 view the impacts of climate change (CC) on sanitation and drinking water quality? Such outcome from the COP21 event would profoundly impact the concerns on sanitation and water, as far as the governments are concerned.

Since Germany is close to France, the moderators may consider assignment someone to cover the sanitation and water-related aspects of the event.

It would also be help, if the moderators collect some publications and make them available on this forum, on the impacts of CC on sanitation and water, and how to adapt to CC, and build resiliency. Such documents, for sure, would be very helpful for people in poor developing countries.

COP21, after all, is a major, major event.


F H Mughal