Global Trends in Water-Climate Resilience 2026
The latest publication from the Water Resilience Tracker combines insights and analysis on major trends in policy, finance, and climate from 2026.
The Water Resilience Tracker initiative has released its latest annual global trends report just ahead of COP31. Global Trends in Water-Climate Resilience 2026: Navigating the Policy, Finance, and Climate Landscape is a valuable resource for COP negotiators, attendees, and anyone looking to unpack the major incidents, milestones, and themes around climate and water from 2026.
This second annual edition of the Global Trends Report examines how changes in the global climate, geopolitical landscape, financial system, and society are reshaping challenges and opportunities for water resilience by asking three main questions:
What has changed in the world in the last year?
Why does it matter for water resilience?
What do we need to do differently?
It is clear that water resilience must be understood as a system-wide challenge, and the response must match the scale of that challenge. The transformation that is needed towards more resilient systems means:
Moving from managing individual hazards to strengthening interconnected systems
Shifting from policy to implementation
Sharing responsibility
Strengthening governance and cooperation
The Water Resilience Tracker can help countries, regions, and basins with all of these objectives. It provides a practical contribution to these transitions by assessing how water is addressed in different planning processes at various levels, identifying gaps and opportunities, and supporting dialogue around implementation.