Three Ways Water Can Enable a Just Transition
Unsplash / Kelly Sikkema
Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement demands a radical transition. For this shift to be just and equitable it must encompass energy, socioeconomic, and workforce dimensions, all rooted in nationally defined development priorities and including social protection. A critical, often overlooked, element in this transition is water.
The fourth Just Transition Work Programme Dialogue will take place in Addis Ababa during this week’s Africa Climate Week. The dialogue will focus on holistic approaches to just transitions as the global community is accelerating its move to low-carbon energy systems. The success and justness of such a transition hinges on protecting and enhancing water resilience, especially for climate-vulnerable communities, is crucial to sustainable solutions.
AGWA was invited by the UNFCCC to contribute to their formal input process. We submitted our recommendations ahead of the fourth Dialogue and stand ready to continue offering our expertise to help ensure the success of the Dialogue.
Ignoring water dependencies in energy transitions can jeopardize both water and energy security, while exacerbating social inequities, and restricting climate resilience.
By contrast, integrated planning for both water and energy resilience offers numerous benefits for both mitigation and adaptation. For instance, achieving energy efficiency targets can reduce water demands, while investments in circular water solutions can lower emissions and generate clean energy from water and sanitation systems.
AGWA’s Head of Policy, Ingrid Timboe shares three ways water can enable a just transition through recognizing its importance, building the right systems and ensuring equitable outcomes.
1 | Value Water
Water, and nature, are essential to a just transition. The natural resources requirements of any transition should be regarded as core systemic components across planning processes rather than externalities. This includes water, an enabler of climate-resilient development.
Many emerging energy technologies, like green hydrogen, bioenergy, and concentrated solar power, as well as established systems such as hydro and nuclear power, have substantial water footprints. Without integrated resource planning, energy transitions risk creating competition for water needed for livelihoods, ecosystems, and economic productivity, particularly in water-stressed regions.
Recognizing and valuing these interdependencies upfront enables more sustainable technology choices and resource allocation.
2 | Build Resilience
Effective water-energy planning requires robust and resilient governance frameworks that support inclusive, participatory decision-making at national and sub-national levels. These systems must evaluate critical risks and trade-offs while remaining adaptive to changing conditions.
Climate change amplifies both water and energy challenges, making flexible, integrated approaches essential for long-term sustainability. Without such frameworks, transition efforts lack the institutional foundation needed to navigate complex resource trade-offs.
3 | Leave no one behind
Vulnerable and marginalized communities face the greatest consequences when energy transitions disrupt water access or security. As energy systems reshape resource flows, deliberate safeguards must ensure new infrastructure enhances rather than undermines community resilience.
Access to reliable energy and water services increases adaptive capacity and must remain central to transition planning. Energy transitions that fail to consider water and protect these populations risk perpetuating the very inequities a just transition seeks to address.
At AGWA we encourage the Just Transition Work Programme to ensure that water resilience is integrated into the principles, practices, and financing of just energy transitions and welcome further exploration of these critical interlinkages in upcoming workshops or dialogues.