The international commitment to transition to a green economy has largely remained strong, even in the face of challenging current economic, social and geopolitical headwinds. Countries and companies alike continue to commit themselves to net-zero carbon goals and sector decarbonisation strategies. But if water is not central to these strategies, realising these goals is put at risk.

Including water in net-zero carbon strategies requires innovative technologies, know-how, governance and financial instruments. Being innovative is challenging, and rising to this challenge demands a paradigm shift. This paper describes how this shift can be made and how it already has been done by multinationals, utilities, municipalities and small companies in both the Global North and the Global South.