Senior-level Forum // "Global Forum on Environment: New Perspectives on the Water-Energy-Food-Nexus", Paris/France

The OECD Global Forum on Environment (GFENV) is an event that brings together international experts from member and non-member economies to share experiences and explore common policy issues. The Forum will gather a broad range of senior policy experts, private sector leaders and financiers in the water, energy and food sectors to debate and discuss how water, food and energy securities compete on the ground; and explore how countries can overcome the challenges in balancing different and growing needs. Achieving water, energy and food security for all is one of the greatest challenges facing humankind. Already today, nearly one billion people lack access to safe drinking water, one billion people suffer from hunger and 2.5 billion people do not have access to modern forms of energy. These challenges will intensify in the future. The OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050 projects that global demand for energy and water will increase by 80% and 55% by 2050 respectively. In addition, the FAO estimates a 60% increase in food demand over the same period. Population growth, economic development and climate change will accelerate competition for food, water and energy. This pressure on resources creates growing concerns regarding the availability, accessibility, distribution and sustainability of water, food, and energy for all. These constraints could jeopardise the fundamental development goals of increased human well-being, economic development and poverty eradication. In the run-up to Rio+20, the Bonn 2011 Nexus Conference contributed to a better understanding of the interdependencies between the water, energy and food security and highlighted the need for more systemic thinking to identify synergies and trade-offs between different sectors, interest groups and development goals. There is a clear need to move away from a "silo" approach to a more integrated policy-making in these areas. Improving the alignment of policy goals can help countries to better manage the risks of water, energy and food scarcity while enhancing resilience in the face of increasing pressures from global trends.

Preliminary Schedule

27 November

09:00 Registration 09:15 Welcome remarks by Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the OECD 09:30 — 11:00 Water, energy, food: Synergies and trade-offs for sustainable growth 11:00 — 11:30 Coffee Break 11:30 — 13:00 Integrating the nexus into national planning 13:00 — 14:30 Lunch 13:00 — 14:30 Side-event on managing the nexus in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia 14:30 — 16:00 Regional and local perspectives on the nexus 16:00 — 16:30 Coffee Break 16:30 — 18:00 Understanding the long-term trends and interactions

28 November

09:30 — 11:00 Getting the incentives right for investment in the nexus 11:00 — 11:30 Coffee Break 11:30 — 13:00 Mainstreaming the nexus in investment 13:00 — 14:30 Lunch 14:30 — 16:30 The Nexus in the post-2015 development agenda

Target audience

-High-level and senior government officials from OECD and non-OECD countries -Business leaders -Private and long-term investors -Leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society organisations -Representatives of intergovernmental organisations -Representatives of international financial institutions and donor agencies -Leading experts in the water, energy and food sectors

Participation

Participation is free of charge, but

by invitation only

. Anyone interested in being invited should contact {nexus@oecd.org}

Contact

Kate Eklin Phone: +33 1 45 24 98 62 E-mail: {kate.eklin@oecd.org} Ruth Catts-Lemaire: +33 1 45 24 64 12 Conference Centre: +33 1 45 24 82 00