GUIDANCE NOTE TO ISSUERS AND VERIFIERS: SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA

The guidance note outlines the processes for evaluating the climate impact of water infrastructure bonds. It details a Mitigation Assessment to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions against baselines and an Adaptation & Resilience Assessment based on a binary scorecard. The latter evaluates an issuer's Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan across four key areas: water allocation, governance, diagnostic technical assessments (including hydrologic modeling), and the robustness of adaptation strategies. The document emphasizes the use of science-based methodologies, such as the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol and IPCC climate projections, and provides extensive examples from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to illustrate compliance.

• The Mitigation Assessment requires issuers to estimate the GHG mitigation impact over the project's operational lifetime, defined as decreased emissions or increased sequestration relative to a 'business as usual' baseline.
• For mitigation, the document strongly recommends using methodologies compliant with the World Resources Institute and World Business Council on Sustainable Development’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
• The Adaptation and Resilience Assessment uses a scorecard methodology consisting of binary questions to evaluate the issuer's Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan.
• The Adaptation scorecard is divided into four parts: Allocation (water sharing within a basin), Governance (formal sharing and regulation), Diagnostic Assessment (hydrologic system changes), and the Adaptation Plan itself.
• A high-scoring Diagnostic Assessment requires the use of a credible hydrologic model at least at the sub-basin scale to simulate the impact of projects under various climate scenarios.
• Robust diagnostic models should incorporate multi-modal ensemble climate projections, such as those from the IPCC, to assess risks over the investment horizon, which may exceed 50 years.
• The guidance specifies that an Adaptation Plan is mandatory if the Vulnerability Assessment shows that climate change or sea level rise has already impacted, or will impact, operations and environmental targets.
• Effective water governance for climate resilience includes having a formal process for re-evaluating decadal trends in precipitation and flow to update 'normal' baseline conditions.

APA

Matthews, J. H., & Timboe, I. (2018). GUIDANCE NOTE TO ISSUERS AND VERIFIERS: SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate%20Bonds-Water%20Infrastructure%20Criteria-Supplementary%20Guidance%20Note%20April%202018.pdf

Chicago

Matthews, John H., and Ingrid Timboe. GUIDANCE NOTE TO ISSUERS AND VERIFIERS: SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2018. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate%20Bonds-Water%20Infrastructure%20Criteria-Supplementary%20Guidance%20Note%20April%202018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Matthews |first1=John H. |last2=Timboe |first2=Ingrid |title=GUIDANCE NOTE TO ISSUERS AND VERIFIERS: SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=April 2018 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate%20Bonds-Water%20Infrastructure%20Criteria-Supplementary%20Guidance%20Note%20April%202018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{matthews2018guidance, author = {Matthews, John H. and Timboe, Ingrid}, title = {{GUIDANCE NOTE TO ISSUERS AND VERIFIERS: SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate%20Bonds-Water%20Infrastructure%20Criteria-Supplementary%20Guidance%20Note%20April%202018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }