2015 was a critical year for the sustainable development agenda, with the launch of the new post-2015 development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals during the 65th Session of the UnitedNations General Assembly in New York, the expected launch of a new global climate change framework at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Paris, and the gathering of world leaders in Addis Ababa for 3rd UN Financing for Development (FfD) Conference to review innovative means of financing the world’s evolving development agenda. These and other global policy frameworks require us to think about how we approach development finance.

This holds special importance for issues such as sustainable use of energy and water resources, both key issues in the afore-mentioned global policy frameworks. As countries around the world face risks from growing levels of energy and water insecurity, opportunities for more sustainable use have risen to the top of the policy agenda. This is true at both the national level, as countries seek to de-risk development pathways and ensure social, economic and environmental sustainability, and within strategic frameworks of providers of development assistance in the UN and International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

As we look to the future in the post-2015 era, efficiency of energy and water use will be two of the most important areas for securing development results. Public and private investments in energy efficiency and water conservation across various sectors is one of the most cost-effective and impactful ways of achieving global and national development goals.

The challenges noted above hold special importance for the Arab region, as it has the world’s highest levels of water insecurity, and is split between countries being energy-import dependent or net energy exporters, but with excessive domestic consumption. Energy and water insecurity has risen to the top of the policy agenda in most countries in the region, with energy and water challenges having direct implications for broader fiscal decision-making, social vulnerability and economic recovery. But the region is also seeing important opportunities for transformative change, with levels of public and private investment into new green technologies rising as countries as they seek to prevent future energy and water bottlenecks to growth and development. As noted by recent reports, such as the 2015 Arab Future Energy Index (AFEX) on Energy Efficiency and the 2013 Arab Water Governance Report, important roles exist for leadership and ambition in public policy, technology innovation and scaled-up finance by the private sector, and a more strategic role by partners like the UN and IFIs in bringing forth global best practices and brokering new strategic partnerships.

By convening this regional forum in 2016, IsDB and UNDP seek to bring together national partners engaged in sustainable energy and water conservation initiatives to capture lessons learned from cooperation in recent years. The forum will review energy and water trends and scenarios in the region, and local best practices and case studies in energy efficiency and water conservation experienced through IsDB and UNDP assistance projects, including those supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It will also convene regional entities and private sector partners to engage in a dialogue with national partners focusing on how new partnerships are needed to scale-up results and adopt innovative solutions on issues surrounding the energy-water nexus in post-2015 era in the region. A number of key themes to be addressed are:

• Showcasing lessons learned on energy and water saving potentials in the region from ongoing

energy and water projects supported by ISDB and UNDP, including GEF supported initiatives;

challenges to maximizing energy and water efficiency potentials; economic benefits of energy

conservation and best practices in water conservation, and opportunities for scaling-up results.

• Exploring innovative financial measures available to support energy and water efficiency

initiatives; market tools for achieving energy efficiency and best practices in energy services

companies; opportunities from sequencing ODA from IsDB and UNDP assistance; and a

roadmap for local institutions to enhance energy and water efficiency results.

• Review trends in public-private partnerships for energy and water efficiency; barriers to scaled-up

private sector finance; and the role of policy frameworks for de-risking investments.