Landmark report launched at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York

31 March 2023

The Global Commission on the Economics of Water, co-chaired by Professor Mariana Mazzucato, launched its landmark report at the first UN water event in 47 years.

罢丑别听听(骋颁贰奥),听co-chaired by UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) Director听Professor Mariana Mazzucato, has launched a groundbreaking new report at the , held from听22-24 March 2023 in New York, US,听that ushers in a paradigm shift in water economics.

Professor Mazzucato and her co-chairs听 (Director General of the World Trade Organization WTO),听 (Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)), and听 (Senior Minister of Singapore), believe that as the听Stern Review rewrote the economics of climate change and听the Dasgupta Review rewrote the economics of biodiversity, the new GCEW report,听,听rewrites the economics of water. It lays听the bedrock for how to value, govern, and finance water in a fundamentally new way.

Professor Mazzucato with fellow Co-Chair Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Commission member Yvonne Aki-Sawyer

At the , the Commission was joined by the King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. The governments of the Netherlands and Tajikistan served as the two national co-hosts of the UN 2023 Water Conference and expressed their full support for the ambition the Commission sets out in its听report.

During the听conference, the Commission brought a key message to world leaders: we will fail on climate change if we fail on water 鈥� and we will fail on virtually all of our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To put the world back on a sustainable and just economic trajectory requires a new economics of water, one that values water as a听global common good.

Liesjie Schreinemacher, Dutch Foreign Minister, delivered opening remarks at the launch of the report

"We need new economic thinking to help move from reactively fixing to proactively shaping economies to become inclusive and sustainable,鈥� said Professor Mazzucato, adding: 鈥淢oving from sectoral to mission-oriented innovation policies with a common good approach can help us put equity and justice at the centre of water partnerships and bring multiple sectors together to tackle our biggest water challenges."

These key messages took centre stage at two other official high-level events:听a on 23 March 2023 and听an i听on 24 March 2023.

The co-chairs of the Commission published ahead of the conference, outlining a 12-point plan to kickstart action in tackling the water crisis.听Additionally, to complement the new report, Professor Mazzucato co-authored with Professor Rockstr枚m calling for a new economics that values blue and green water in a more holistic way.

罢丑别听GCEW听was established in May 2022听at the initiative of the Government of the Netherlands, with the aim of re-envisioning the economics and governance of water. The Commission comprises an independent and diverse group of experts from the听fields of science, economics and policymaking, and with leadership experience at听community, city, national and multilateral levels.

The Commission will share its final report in 2024.

皇家华人