World Water Week 2025 opens: Water takes centre stage in global climate action
It’s never been more important to unite for water and climate. World Water Week 2025 opens today in Stockholm, Sweden, and online, under the theme Water for Climate Action, bringing together thousands of participants from across the globe to accelerate solutions for the climate crisis.
From extreme droughts to rising floods, the effects of climate change are felt first, and most severely, through water. Yet, despite its critical role in every sector and ecosystem, water has remained politically overlooked or fragmented in global climate discussions. But the tide is turning.
World Water Week 2025 comes at a key moment. It follows important breakthroughs at COP28 and COP29, where global climate agreements began to recognize water as central to mitigation and adaptation. With COP30 coming up in Brazil, the international community now has a unique chance to keep that momentum going and to ensure that water is firmly integrated into climate strategies.
“The climate crisis is a water crisis. We see it in drying rivers and flooded cities, in failed harvests and forced migration. But in water, we also find the solutions. This year’s World Water Week is our historic chance to put water where it belongs—at the heart of global climate action,” said Helena Thybell, Executive Director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
A week of global dialogue and leadership
World Water Week 2025 will feature hundreds of sessions and events, including the High-Level Panel: Water’s Pathway in Global Processes on 26 August. Leaders from governments, UN agencies, science, civil society, and the private sector will explore how water is shaping global agendas from COP30 in Brazil to the 2026 UN Water Conference.
“Together with many of you, SIWI is proud to strengthen water’s role in global processes. The High-Level Panel this week will help connect the conversations here at World Water Week to international milestones like COP30 and the 2026 UN Water Conference. Our shared challenge is to keep the momentum going—and this is where it begins,” Helena Thybell added.
Other highlights of the week include the Stockholm Water Prize ceremony, the Indigenous Peoples Focus, and the first-ever UN World Lake Day Sunrise Swim.
35 years of water action
2025 marks the 35th edition of World Water Week. What began in 1991 as a local celebration of clean water in Stockholm has evolved into the world’s leading conference on global water issues.
A non-profit event, co-created with over 500 leading organizations, World Water Week attracts a diverse mix of participants from many professional backgrounds and every corner of the world. The event is an important annual moment for collective action and urgent water conversations across boundaries. It’s a safe and inclusive space where participants can debate, share knowledge, and co-create solutions to the world’s greatest water-related challenges.
World Water Week 2025 takes place at Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre, with all sessions also accessible online, free of charge.
Christina Bergstrand
SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Mobile: +46 72050612
