Recap on setting the scene

Josefina Maestu

United Nations Office to Support the International

Decade for Action: “Water for Life” 2005-2015, 

UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication)

Insights from the inauguration The Ebro River basin, an example of long term PPP that allowed to convert a semi-

arid territory into an agro food and energy specialized region.

Water planning in Spain is a process to manage water and energy.

International cooperation can foster partnership to advance the Millennium Development Goals.

Spain has set precise target of energy within water plans including the development of reversible hydropower to back up renewable electricity

sources (such as wind and solar ones), to complete on-going projects and to continue hydropower development,

Coping with water scarcity requires innovative solutions. Spain is exploring the way to integrate new practical solutions into the water planning process.

Pursuing policy objectives independently often leads to

“water-blind” energy policies,

And “energy-blind” water policies

The advantages of policy coherence

Take advantage of win-wins• Pursuing multiple policy objectives at the same time Examples: increasing water and energy efficiency; lowering water consumption through conservation, labelling of water-efficient appliances, etc. (Singapore)

Managing social conflicts• Pursuing one policy objective without undermining othersExamples: Requiring solar hot water systems on new buildings (Israel); use of waste heat from thermoelectric power plants to desalinate seawater to produce reliable drinking water (Middle East)

Managing trade-offs• Minimising negative impacts on other policiesExamples: Recycling effluent from bio refineries to reduce negative impacts on freshwater ecosystems (Brazil); Co-ordination between policies for water allocation and energy explicitly (Israel).

There are many solutions to• Use energy more efficiently (and save water).• Use water more efficiently (and save energy).• Make water more energy efficient.• Make energy more water efficient.• Joint production of water and energy• Develop new water sources (recirculated and recycled water)

and renewable energy (geothermal, wind, solar).• Improve the water and the energy mix

“Win-win” technological options for both water and energy• E.g. low-flow fixtures, energy efficient appliances

But Trade-offs between water and energy are more common• E.g. irrigated biofuels, groundwater overexploitation/pumping

W&E Nexus is context dependent

They depend on resource endowments and development:

There are still significant untapped hydropower development opportunities in countries in which electricity demand is expected to growth faster (e.g. Africa), but this is not general (Asia)

Policy coherence needs to recognize that there are multiple objectives

All the opportunities FOR win-win solutions (the save water and energy at the same time) but they are not panaceas.

They might not necessarily be coherent with many other socially relevant objectives

• Create business opportunities.• Improve Justice and fairness• Legitimacy and political acceptance.• Enhance resilience and adaptability to

Climate Change• Improve competitiveness.• Being implementable within the

institutional set-up.• Cost effectiveness.• Job creation• Strengthen regional

development……………….

And obstacles to respond to the W&E Challenge – Governance

• Existing incentives are still designed to deal with water and energy separately.

• Both water and energy investment and planning are mostly based upon existing rather that on future resources.

• There is still mutual ignorance of each other sector in the water and energy community.

• Too little advance so far in linked information and integrated decision support systems for integrated water and energy management.

• Both sector still rely on engineered solutions while natural green infrastructures are underappreciated.

• Each community see each other challenges in a self interested way (e.g. water issues as a barrier to energy development but not as a whole sustainable development issue).

• ……………..

The big brother issue… to what extend are asymmetries between the water and energy

sectors an impediment to build effective and fair partnerships

• Big global and influential business vs “small, scattered and mostly ignored utilities”.

• Innovative and dynamic enterprises vs traditional business.• Well defined concepts and precise information vs debatable definitions ,

modelling and weak data.• Market driven business decisions vs heavily regulated and publicly financed

sector.

Need to improve Many institutional preconditions seem to be

missed and need to be built to allow for effective partnerships…

•Institutional incentives•Platforms/ governance mechanisms to manage trade-offs•Adequate control of lobbies’ pressures•Strategic planning and sequencing decisions•Common information and resources among institutions. •Moving beyond simple modeling

Overview of the dayTuesday, January 14, 2014

• 10:00-13.00 World Bank Session: The Business Case for Integrated Energy-Water Planning and Investments

• 12:50-13:20 Side Event 1 World Water Day 2014 Teaser: UNU and UNIDO.

• 14:30–18:00 UNIDO and UNEP Session: Industry partnerships to ensure water and energy efficiency and sustainability

- 14:30-16:00 Panel 1 UNIDO-Industry Partnerships- 16:30-18:00 Panel 2 UNEP – Industry and other stakeholder

partnerships• 18:00-19:00 Side Event 2 Panel discussion on challenges for water and

energy in Spain, Ebro River Basin Authority• 19:30 Visit to the Aljafería Palace

Session 1: The Business Case for Integrated Energy-Water Planning and Investment

Objectives:Strengthen the partnerships among key stakeholders .Understanding the water risks for the energy sector. Demonstrating how integrated policies to water-energy issues can achieve greater economic and social impacts.

Some questions:How research and technology may help demonstrate the advantages for policy coherence?

Challenges for companies reaching out to governments?

How Governments are enhancing policy coherence?

Session 2: Industry partnering with governments to ensure water and energy efficiency and sustainability

Objectives: •Discuss emerging trends , their implications and further actions that can be taken by the different stakeholders.•Present partnership cases to tackle the nexus issues, between industry and other stakeholders. •Illustrate how to build capacity to apply to industrial integrated approach in order to facilitate the transfer of environmentally sound technology.•Highlight the need for appropriate responses and regulatory frameworks that account for both water and energy priorities.

Questions: What are challenges and opportunities of partnerships on water and energy for industries?

What are the opportunities for implementation of improved coordinated/integrated activities?

What are the main lessons learnt from public and private partnerships in industries?

Linking Zaragoza to Tokyo• Case studies – Success stories for public-private

partnerships

• Application of technology, research, innovation

• Achieving sustainability for water-energy nexus

• Creating enabling environment, incentives, funding mechanisms

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATE• We are in the homepage of the UN in Spanish and English

• And in UN Radio http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/spanish/2014/01/onu-celebra-conferencia-preparatoria-del-dia-mundial-del-agua/

• Today we are starting video interviews

• Please distribute press release and provide communication contacts in your organizations.