Water Infrastructure

 Water Infrastructure Criteria

Water-related investments account for an enormous part of the capital assets of developed countries, and are a huge part of investments being undertaken in developing economies. In 2008, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report showed the complex links between climate change and the distribution and supply of fresh water. Substantial infrastructure will be required to ensure clean and secure water supplies as the climate changes. A clear understanding of what sorts of investments are consistent with improving the climate resilience of water assets will help bond investors quickly determine the environmental credentials of water-related green bonds.

The Water Infrastructure Criteria lay out the requirements that water infrastructure assets and/or projects must meet to be eligible for inclusion in a Certified Climate Bond. The bond must also meet the reporting and transparency requirements of the overarching Climate Bonds Standard in order to receive Certification.

Climate Bonds Water Infrastructure Criteria have been developed in three phases. Phase 1 Criteria covers engineered water infrastructure and Phase 2 Criteria covers nature-based and hybrid water infrastructure for such purposes as water collection, storage, treatment and distribution, flood protection and drought resilience. The addition of Desalination Criteria marks the third phase of Criteria development. These three phases now form the whole Criteria and there is no division between the three.

 

Development of Water Infrastructure Criteria

The development of the Water Infrastructure Criteria has been led by the Water Consortium, which consists of the Climate Bonds Initiative, Ceres, World Resources Institute (WRI), CDP and the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), which is supported by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). To create the Criteria, the Water Consortium convened a Technical Working Group (TWG) and an Industry Working Group (IWG) with representatives from investors, public utilities, water NGOs and international policy bodies from around the world.

An additional Desalination TWG was convened to develop the desalination criteria added in phase 3 of Criteria development.

 

KR Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation have kindly supported this work.

 

 

Status: The Water Infrastructure Criteria is available for use in certifications. Get in contact with certification@climatebonds.net to start the certification process of your Water Infrastructure  green bond.

Financial instruments (bonds and loans) linked to these eligible assets, activities and entities will be aligned with the Paris Agreement and the goal of keeping global temperature rises to no more than 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels.

The new Water Infrastructure Criteria was launched on 22 May 2018. See the Media Release for more details. 

A Webinar ‘A Deeper Blue for Green Bonds: Water Investment Criteria for Nature-based Solutions’ was held on June 14 2018.

A webinar was held in November 2017 to launch the Phase 2 Public Consultation. The recording is below:

 

Water Infrastructure Criteria Technical Working Group Members

 

Lead Specialist

Alliance for Global Water Adaptation Dr. John Matthews Secretariat Coordinator

 

World Bank Group's Environment & Natural Resources Global Practice Valerie Hickey	California Organized Investment Network (COIN) Peter Streit Investment Officer	European Investment Bank Nancy Saich Senior Advisor on Climate Action & Environment	UNESCO-IHE Prof. Michael McClain Professor of Ecohydrology	World Business Council for Sustainable Development Tatiana Fedotova Manager, Water Cluster
University of North Carolina Dr. Larry Band Director, Institute for the Environment	Tetra Tech Dan Christian Senior Water Resource Engineer	Deltares Cees van de Guchte Scenarios & Policy Analysis	American Water Works Association Cynthia Lane Director of Engineering & Technical Services	IUCN Global Water Programme Dr. James Dalton Coordinator Global Water Initiatives
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UNEP-DHI Partnership Maija Bertule Programme Advisor	Alliance for Global Water Adaptation  Christine Chan	Ceres Monika Freyman Director, Water Program	World Resources Institute Todd Gartner Director, Natural Infrastructure Initiative	Stockholm International Water Institute John Joyce Chief Economist, Water Economics
UNEP Dr. Musonda Mumba Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EBA) Flagship Programme Coordinator	Water Innovator Will Sarni	Earth Security Group Margot Hill Clarvis ​Senior Manager	Organica Water Ari Raivetz CEO	Stockholm International Water Institute Torgny Holmgren Executive Director
Charles River Watershed Association Robert Zimmerman Executive Director	Bioatlatlantic Institute Marco Follador Director of Adaptation Planning	University of California, Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources Ted Grantham ​Cooperative Extension Specialist in Climate & Water	Denver Water Laurna Kaatz Climate Scientist	Complutense University of Madrid Dr. Elena Lopez-Gunn
2030 Water Resources Group (hosted by IFC) Rochi Khemka Regional Coordinator	Conservation International Dave Hole ​Senior Director, Global Synthesis	US Geological Survey Janet Cushing Deputy Chief, National Climate Change & Wildlife Science Center	Independent Consultant Benjamin Denjean	The Nature Conservancy Jorge Gastelumendi Senior Policy Advisor