It will present the evidence and the pathways for changes in policy, business approaches and global collaboration to support climate and water justice, sustainability, and food-energy-water security.
The Commission is convened by the Government of the Netherlands and facilitated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It was launched in May 2022 with a two-year mandate.
The GCEW is executed by an independent and diverse group of eminent policy makers and researchers in fields that bring novel perspectives to water economics, aligning the planetary economy with sustainable water-resource management.
Its purpose is to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global effort to spur change in the way societies govern, use and value water.
The group will develop the new thinking on economics and governance required to lead countries out of the current impasse. The Commission is composed of experts, community leaders and practitioners from a broad range of science, policy and front-line practice expertise from all regions of the globe, bridging disciplines, cultures and worldviews.
As such, it is uniquely positioned to change the equation on water and raise awareness, promote better policies and implementation plans, building coalitions and stimulating action that will restore the hydrological cycle, improve access to water services and boost well-being.
Completing the sustainability trilogy that began with the Stern Review on the economics of climate change (released in 2006) and the Dasgupta Review on the economics of biodiversity (issued in 2021), the GCEW will provide a fundamental reassessment of the way we manage and value water, and water’s intrinsic role in addressing climate change and other global challenges.
The Commission’s first report will be launched on 22 March at the UN 2023 Water Conference and inform the launch of a “Pact for Voluntary Commitments”.
The work of the GCEW entails a two-year process, with societal dialogues and calls for evidence. This will ensure a wider audience is reached and the supporting material to work with is robust and up to date, and the coalitions for action are genuinely global. The work combines three pillars: analytics, societal dialogues and an action agenda.
Societal dialogues are designed to engage with a range of communities to ensure that:
- their voice is being heard and reflected in the work of the Commission;
- messages from the Commission reach out to communities of practice; and
- coalitions for action emerge from the consultation process.
Societal dialogues will be designed for the next generation constituencies, Indigenous peoples and labour. They will also be designed for private sector audiences, including the finance community, and the food value chain.
The GCEW seeks to design mutually reinforcing action pathways that build change and grow the constituency of support for the preservation of the water cycle. To do so, an action agenda will be derived from the analytical dynamics throughout the Commission process and the engagement with people in institutions who can ignite change.
From this perspective, the GCEW will provide important inputs to the UN 2023 Water Conference, which is co-chaired by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Tajikistan. It will also take forward the Conference outcomes through societal dialogues in 2023 and deliver a final report in 2024.
The analytics are coordinated by three lead experts who engage a network of research teams made up of researchers across various themes and institutions. The lead experts are tasked with curating the knowledge and responding to ad hoc demands. They will develop new analytics and data connected to social and economic dimensions. Technical reports will explore the current state of the world and future projections, and the innovative pathways which can serve the renewed economic paradigm.
In addition to the work coordinated by the lead experts, the GCEW will convene several calls for evidence to gather knowledge from research teams active in relevant fields. The first call was issued in November 2022.
Societal dialogues are designed to engage with a range of communities to ensure that:
- their voice is being heard and reflected in the work of the Commission;
- messages from the Commission reach out to communities of practice; and
- coalitions for action emerge from the consultation process.
Societal dialogues will be designed for the next generation constituencies, Indigenous peoples and labour. They will also be designed for private sector audiences, including the finance community, and the food value chain.
The GCEW seeks to design mutually reinforcing action pathways that build change and grow the constituency of support for the preservation of the water cycle. To do so, an action agenda will be derived from the analytical dynamics throughout the Commission process and the engagement with people in institutions who can ignite change.
From this perspective, the GCEW will provide important inputs to the UN 2023 Water Conference, which is co-chaired by the Dutch and Tajikistan governments. It will also take forward the Conference outcomes through societal dialogues in 2023 and deliver a final report in 2024.
