The impacts of climate change pose an increasing burden to how drinking water and wastewater utilities maintain the security of their supply and the operational performance of its infrastructure. At the same time the supply of water and the treatment of used water leads to substantial greenhouse gas emissions, caused e.g. by water loss and inefficiencies in the urban water systems.

These challenges however, can provide a window of opportunity to initiate a much needed paradigm shift towards low-energy, low-carbon and climate resilient urban water services. Drinking water and wastewater utilities can reduce their carbon footprint through energy efficiency measures, but also through reducing the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (methane and nitrous oxide) related to wastewater treatment and discharge. Implementing improvement measures has multiple benefits as it allows utilities to reduce their operational costs, improve their service to the public and protect the environment.

In this webinar, pioneering WaCCliM* utilities from Thailand and Jordan share their experiences on identifying and implementing measures to reduce emissions, the challenges and how to overcome these. Also ECAM, a free web-based tool is introduced which supports utilities from emerging economies to assess their baseline performance, identify potential measures for reducing energy and emissions, and monitor progress.

WaCCliM* – Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation project, is a joint initiative between the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the International Water Association (IWA). This project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.