Climate Bonds releases Draft Water Standard for public consultation

Now open for comment, the Water Standard has been developed throughout 2015 by a Technical Working Group (TWG) and Industry Working Group (IWG), convened by the Climate Bonds Initiative, Ceres, CDP and the World Resources Institute. It follows the Draft Low Carbon Transport Standard released for comment in late October.

The TWG comprises 16 internationally recognised academics and experts. The IWG is comprised of 11 representatives from investors, public utilities, water NGOs and international policy bodies.

The Climate Bonds Water Standard will bring vulnerability assessment and climate mitigation and adaptation planning to the fixed income space. It will allow investors to easily prioritise projects that are seriously considering their climate impacts and climate resilience.

The proposed Water Standard will certify water investments that have

1. carried out climate vulnerability assessments considering past, present and future climate risks and environmental losses and,
2. created climate adaptation and/or mitigation plans.

The Water Standard will now undergo a 60-day period of public consultation, investor and industry comment closing at 17:00 GMT 12 February 2016.

The proposed Water Standard Criteria can be downloaded here.