K-water participated in UNFCCC’s COP28 held in Dubai in December 2023. Marking its 28th year, COP28 is a top annual climate change conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that is responsible for ensuring that the signatories implement policies and measures on the mitigation of climate change. COP28 regularly reviews the progress in the implementation of the treaty and makes decisions to ensure that measures under the UNFCCC are implemented effectively.
In a meeting with the UNFCCC Secretariat, K-water, Korea’s leading water manager, discussed how funds should be used to help developing countries respond to their losses and damages. K-water plans to work through the Asia Water Council that it chairs to get officially certified by the UNFCCC Secretariat and obtain the right to participate actively in climate change conferences organized by the United Nations.

Multiple seminars and discussion sessions took place during the COP28 that ran for several days. On December 9, Water Pavilion TD6-Water for Net-Zero brought together representatives from energy and water-related government agencies, international organizations, and private corporations. They discussed ways and plans to make the energy transition using water and shared their ideas on carbon neutrality in the public water resources sector. On December 10, a special seminar was held at the Korea Pavilion to encourage countries to work together to fight the climate crisis. Discussions at the seminar attended by ADB and GCF focused on strategies to spread the water management technology innovation in the global community and ways to implement cooperation projects in order to adapt to and mitigate climate change.
On December 9, the K-water delegation met with the Minister of Lands and Water Affairs of the Republic of Botswana, Africa to sign a USD 18.0 billion deal to create an integrated water management system in the African country with K-water as the sole contractor. Under the agreement, K-water will build an integrated water resources management system wherein rivers, dams, and waterworks will be brought together for effective management for Botswana, which is suffering from chronic droughts and water shortages. The project is a rare public infrastructure project in Africa that is financed not by ODA but by the Botswana government.
The deal suggests that K-water is recognized globally for its superior water management technology. K-water’s CEO Yun Seog-dae and Botswana’s Minister of Lands and Water Affairs Kefentse Mzwinila agreed to work together in all aspects of water management including renewable energy, water quality control, and revenue water ratio management as well as the construction of the integrated water management system.