The Fight for Clean Water Belongs at the Center of COP31
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
With Waterkeepers from Africa and Asia participating on the ground in Türkiye, Waterkeeper Alliance is supporting frontline voices calling for an end to fossil fuel expansion, climate justice, and a just energy transition that protects water and communities.
As world leaders meet for COP31, November 9–20, Waterkeepers from across Africa and Asia are on the ground participating in the global climate conversation. Waterkeeper Alliance is supporting their engagement and amplifying the voices of its global network while calling for decisive action to transition away from fossil fuels, protect freshwater and marine ecosystems, and deliver climate finance directly to communities facing the greatest risks.
From threats posed by offshore oil and gas development along West Africa’s coast to pressures on rivers, wetlands, and freshwater resources across Asia and beyond, Waterkeepers are witnessing how decisions about energy and development directly affect water quality, biodiversity, food security, and livelihoods.
Senegal illustrates the stakes. Offshore oil and gas projects in this climate-vulnerable nation marks a significant expansion of fossil fuel production along a coastline where protecting fisheries and marine ecosystems is essential to community well-being.
Waterkeeper Alliance together with campaign partners, Hann Baykeeper, Bargny Coast Waterkeeper, and Senegal River Waterkeeper, are challenging offshore oil and gas development and associated infrastructure, highlighting the threats to fishing livelihoods and marine ecosystems, alongside concerns about inadequate community consultation and accountability.
Similarly in southeast Asia, Waterkeepers Bangladesh, Pashur River Waterkeeper, and partners continue to advance climate resilience, climate justice, aquatic conservation, and a call for renewable energy through community events, public demonstrations, and youth engagement, including recent nationwide protests that called for debt justice and fair climate compensation.
Upper Yellow River Waterkeeper from China is bringing these priorities to COP31 through two events focused on science, collaboration, and climate resilience. The organization’s November 10 onsite side event, “Global South Young Scientists for Climate Resilience: Bridging Science, Communities and Policy,” will bring together young scientists, policymakers, and civil society leaders to explore how scientific knowledge and community-led solutions can inform climate policy, advance a just energy transition, and protect ecosystems and community rights. On November 14, they will convene a dialogue with Chinese industrial associations and academic institutions, creating space for civil society, industry, and researchers to exchange perspectives and explore opportunities for cooperation on environmental protection and sustainable development.
At COP31, Waterkeeper Alliance calls on governments, development banks, investors, and insurers to:
- Commit to a fair, funded transition away from fossil fuels, ending new oil and gas expansion and establishing clear implementation timelines.
- Redirect finance toward affordable clean energy and sustainable livelihoods, supporting energy access and economic opportunities shaped by local priorities.
- Make water central to climate action, protecting and restoring rivers, wetlands, mangroves, and coastal ecosystems while strengthening water and sanitation infrastructure.
- Deliver accessible, grant-based climate finance, including adaptation and loss-and-damage support, without deepening debt burdens.
- Protect community rights and participation, ensuring transparency, access to justice, protection for environmental defenders, and respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
- Hold fossil fuel companies accountable through independent monitoring, public disclosure of pollution and emissions, and enforceable cleanup, restoration, and compensation obligations.
An equitable transition requires wealthy nations to take responsibility for their historical emissions and provide sustained financial and technical support to developing countries. Communities in Africa, Asia, and all around the world deserve development pathways that protect their natural resources and expand opportunity.