Our climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy
Launched in 2023, our climate policy’s ambition is to secure future water and sanitation service delivery and to contribute to scaling low carbon, climate resilient water and sanitation enterprises and infrastructure. The strategy guides how our programmes will become climate smart – considering greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. The water and sanitation sector in our countries of operation have limited contributions to global GHG emissions but are heavily impacted by climate change. Therefore, our main focus is on climate adaptation and building resilience.
Aqua for All ensures WASH investments are climate smart: avoiding emissions, reducing risks and building resilience.
Aqua for All will:
- Mainstream climate risk, adaptation & mitigation impact assessments in all initiatives supported directly
- Support the design and implementation of adaptation & mitigation measures where needed
- Support our FI/Investor-partners in climate risk assessment and mitigation screening
- Reduce our own operational footprint.
Unlocking carbon finance for water and sanitation
Carbon credits are becoming increasingly prevalent in the WASH sector, offering additional revenue streams for water and sanitation-focused small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contributing to climate change mitigation. While carbon finance has the potential to enhance the sustainability of these enterprises, many lack the knowledge and capacity to incorporate this revenue stream into their business models effectively.
To support social enterprises in the Global South to take full advantage of carbon credits, it is essential to raise awareness of both the opportunities and challenges involved. In our Carbon Credits Knowledge Brief we draw on our experiences in the carbon space and explore strategies to mobilise carbon finance for water and sanitation enterprises: