As world leaders gather in Antalya, Türkiye, for COP31, they have an opportunity to reconsider a longstanding assumption in climate policymaking: that water is primarily a consequence of climate change, rather than an integral part of the climate system and a potential driver of climate solutions.
Water has understandably featured prominently in climate adaptation discussions. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, melting glaciers, and intensifying droughts and floods threaten water security, food production, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
But this framing captures only one direction of a more complex relationship.
Water is not only downstream of climate change. It is also upstream of it. Water-related ecosystems and human interventions in the hydrological cycle influence carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate regulation.
Suggested citation: Kaveh Madani. “Water Is Not Just A Victim Of Climate Change—It’s Part Of The Solution” Forbes, 9 November 2026.
