UN Climate Change Reports, April 11, 2023. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell is calling on countries to step up international action and policymaking that puts water at the forefront of climate change adaptation efforts and uses water as a natural solution to the climate emergency. Addressing the UN General Assembly on Water at the UN Water Conference in late March, he said: “We must work for water, so that water works for us.” Climate change is putting water resources under pressure, affecting critical sectors such as agriculture and food security, energy and health, and reversing progress towards sustainable development. But water is also an important carbon sink: mangrove soils, for example, can sequester up to three or four times more carbon than terrestrial soils. Protecting and enhancing these types of environments has the potential to dramatically impact climate change and provide the basis for both mitigation and adaptation solutions to the climate emergency. The 2023 UN Water Conference took place in New York from 22 to 24 March, and participants made commitments to address the global water crisis. It confirmed that water issues truly unite the world, as a committed global community came together to transform not only the future of water, but also the future of the world. The Water Action Programme, one of the key outcomes of the conference, has grown in scope and scope over time, with billions of dollars pledged and more than 700 commitments from states and businesses in the water sector aimed at achieving a water-secure world. The conference also highlighted how water can lead to equality, peace and sustainability. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that water should be at the centre of the global political agenda: “The commitments at this conference are driving humanity towards a water-secure future that every person on the planet needs.” To complement the Water Action Agenda and further stimulate momentum, Stiell announced a commitment to create a Water and Climate Linkage Alliance – focused on water systems climate resilient – within the UN Climate Change Secretariat. This alliance will apply a Secretariat-wide approach to build on existing mandates and initiatives in promoting a “water for all sectors” perspective in the formulation and implementation of national adaptation plans and in prioritizing countries’ nationally determined contributions.