President Jason Morrison Joins Water Action Event at COP25
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Climate change is already affecting every aspect of the water cycle, from changes in precipitation patterns to sea level rise. At the
UN Climate Change Conference
(COP25) in Madrid this month, Pacific Institute President Jason Morrison
joined
leaders and stakeholders from around the world to discuss crucial next steps in the UN climate change process. Mr. Morrison attended the Water Action Event, where participants explored how industries, governments, agricultural producers, and others are building resilient water systems at all governance scales throughout the world.
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Blog Post:
Insights from COP25: The (Interconnected) Pillars of Water System Transformation
By Jason Morrison, President
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"At both major international climate events this year –
COP25
in Madrid this month and the
UN Climate Action Summit
in New York City in September – there was a clear, resounding message from the environmental community:
'We are exactly on track to where we don’t want to go, and change is needed now,'"
writes Mr. Morrison.
"
Transforming water systems to be climate resilient is a critical component of the needed change."
In this blog post, Mr. Morrison outlines the key pillars of a transformation to a climate resilient future.
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New Release:
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Three Essential Ingredients to Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains
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New Release:
Water Conflict Prediction Tool
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What if we could predict violent conflicts before they arise and help stop them? A groundbreaking new
tool
from the Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership does just this, using data from the Pacific Institute’s
Water Conflict Chronology
.
The WPS Global Early Warning Tool has adopted machine learning techniques coupled with environmental, meteorological, social, and economic data to try to predict the risk of violent conflicts up to 12 months ahead of time and forecast where organized violence is likely to occur.
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TIME Op-Ed:
When It Comes to
Climate
Change Adaptation, as Goes California, So Goes…the World
By President Emeritus Peter Gleick
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California is experiencing the tangible effects of extreme weather events from climate change, from flooding to raging wildfires. But "the idea that California’s failures and challenges are unique is wrong," writes Peter Gleick in
TIME
. "What’s happening here offers all Americans a glimpse into the failures and challenges of the U.S. as a whole... The rest of the country and the world should start taking lessons from California: watch to see the challenges that arise, how the state responds, hope we succeed, and plan their own actions accordingly."
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Blog Post:
Managing Urban Flooding in the San Francisco Bay Area: From a Concrete Bowl to a Green Sponge
By Cora Kammeyer, Research Associate
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Climate change is increasing California's natural weather variability, leading to what scientists are calling
precipitation whiplash
. How can California's San Francisco Bay Area adapt? In this blog post, Research Associate Cora Kammeyer suggests we need to redesign our cities to be more like sponges, capturing and soaking in or holding flood waters. This means improving and update our “gray” infrastructure (sewers and pipes) and investing in “green” infrastructure, like rain gardens, constructed wetlands, stormwater retention basins, and tidal marsh restoration.
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Update from the CEO Water Mandate:
Upcoming Paper on P
r
ivate Sector Water Resilience
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Companies are facing greater risks from increasingly frequent floods and droughts, poor water quality, and increased demand due to high temperatures – more water is needed for irrigation, drinking water, and industrial uses. To better address these water risks, companies need to adapt and build resilience across their direct operations, value chains, and surrounding ecosystems and communities.
As co-secretariat of the
CEO W
ater Mandate,
the Pacific Institute mobilizes business leaders to advance water sustainability around the world under a changing climate. Early next year, along with our partners including
CDP
,
the
World Business Council for Sustainable Development,
and
Suez
,
we will publish a paper on private sector water resilience, exploring common barriers to action.
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Peter Gleick Attends Climate Change Event at American Geophysical Union Conference
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The American Geophysical Union (AGU) strives to enhance the well-being of communities and preserve the health of the planet. This month, Peter Gleick moderated an AGU event focused on climate change at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco. At Dr. Gleick's event, California Former Governor Jerry Brown joined a panel of scientists to discuss the science and politics of climate change and what needs to be done to protect Earth’s climate for the future. At a separate event, Dr. Gleick presented on climate impacts on water resources.
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Resources for Resilience:
Explore Our Reports on Climate Change and Water
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The Pacific Institute has been working to elucidate risks to water systems from climate change since the 1980s. Our California research can inform water policy in other regions around the world.
Here's a sample of our work on climate change and water resources:
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Meet Our Staff:
Sonali Abraham, Research Associate
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Sonali joined the Pacific Institute in 2018 as a Research Associate. She studied in Delhi, India, which has been through many periods of water shortages. She contrasts her experience of Delhi’s water issues to the time she spent living in the dry desert islands of the Middle East, which are rich with oil wealth, and where “water was always in plenty.” Through this and other experiences, Sonali says she became aware of water disparity and the effects of history and geography on water resources.
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Pacific Institute in the News
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VICE:
This Decade We Became Really, Really Sure Climate Change Is Real
Open Canada
:
An Environmental Movement for Times of War, Too
Reuters
:
Explainer: California Faces Decade of ‘Unique’ Wildfire Blackouts
Los Angeles Times
:
Amid the Wasteland of the Salton Sea, a Miraculous but Challenging Oasis is Born
Read more news featuring Pacific Institute research and experts
here
.
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Between now and Dec 31st all gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $200,000!
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