WEBVTT

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We're in New York City, the
first UN Water Conference

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in almost 50 years.

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Why is water rising

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up the global agenda as fast as it is?

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I think the fact that
there's no single UN agency

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on water is probably indication

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that it cuts across everything.

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It's affecting our food
supply, it's affecting people,

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it's affecting the weather.

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We're feeling it in a way

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that we haven't been maybe in the past

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and realizing that we're more
vulnerable than we thought.

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And so it's very timely
to have the meeting.

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But, of course, the water
sector is a big sector.

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There's a lot of discussions to be had,

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but I think it's really good timing.

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Yeah. One of the things
I noticed yesterday

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within the UN General Assembly

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and a number of site events

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was that ecosystems were
certainly coming to the fore.

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It's no longer

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a conversation just about
taps and toilets, right?

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Would you share that same sentiment?

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Yeah, absolutely.

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I mean, the water sanitation
issue has been with us

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for decades, you know,
and the sheer number

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of people still lacking access to water

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and sanitation is shocking.

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And you would think that
would be enough to, you know,

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get people to move on water.

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And I think that has been a
dominant water discussion.

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And I think it's surprised
even myself that ecosystems

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and even biodiversity have
somehow come back on the agenda

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or come into this discussion
in a way that is a surprise

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to many of us.

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But I think it's also
indicative of the fact that

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because of the way we're
feeling water through climate,

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you know, floods and
droughts, that the role

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of ecosystems is playing
such an important role.

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We like to say
that water is to adaptation

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as carbon is to mitigation.

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And I think that tagline

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is going to be an important
way of reminding us

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going forward how important
water is in this discussion.

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So we're not in a Paris
Agreement for water just yet.

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What's your hope from the conference

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and how do we get there?

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Yeah, I think this week has been,

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I don't think anybody
really knew what to expect.

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It was another big water meeting.

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But actually, I have
to say the energy here,

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the feeling, the people who are here,

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the different voices I'm
hearing at this conference,

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different sectors,
different organizations.

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I think there's a real
sense of momentum now.

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And I think it's what we
do to take this forward.

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And I think that's why the partnership

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with BCG and others is so important

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because we have an opportunity now

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on the back of pledges, on
the back of this momentum

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in this moment to kind of drive forward

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and show what can be done

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and what directions could take us forward.