As cities grapple with increasing urbanization and uncertain futures that severely impact their water systems, local action within cities is influenced by the broader national context, which can either enable or hinder city-level initiatives. Given the growing severity of the impacts of climate change, and the timely and effective action needed to mitigate and adapt to it, multilevel dialogues and collaboration is essential to facilitate climate action, as it encourages a coordinated approach, facilitates resource mobilization, promotes policy synergy, fosters knowledge sharing, and provides political support.

By working together and supporting cities as leaders in addressing climate action through investments in building resilience in their water systems, regional governments, and national authorities can maximize the impact of climate investments and drive the transition to a more sustainable and resilient future.

Drawing from the substantial political traction of the 2023 UN Water Conference and ongoing urban water resilience initiatives, this high-level roundtable gathers mayors, national government representatives, and cities networks to catalyze multilevel action for urban water resilience and will launch a new working group dedicated to advancing this agenda under the UNFCCC’s Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda.

 

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