The acceleration of climate change we are seeing is triggering one of the deepest and most threatening global crises to ensure a fair and livable planet for the more than 8 billion inhabitants and for the biosphere. The climate crisis is so significant and severe that climate emergency is already being discussed. We are in a global context in which the trespassing of planetary boundaries, particularly those related to climate emergency, has clear effects on our daily lives, especially in an uneven and unfair manner. Organizations, across their diversity, cannot circumvent the necessary debate on how they must adapt to the new climate emergency context and how they can contribute effectively to mitigation and adaptation, without falling into greenwashing. New metrics, beyond current green certifications, that can capture and incentivize the decarbonization and ecological transition of organizations will need to be found. Obviously, this requires a profound change in the continuous economic growth logic that transcends the individual wills of organizations and requires profound social, cultural and political-economic change in the priorities we have as a society.

In the past four decades, the centre of economic power has moved from industry to finance. Against this backdrop, the financialization of the water industry has made the hydrosocial cycle more complex, witnessing the emergence of new financial logics and financing instruments. This change has thoroughly transformed the relation between infrastructures and water companies, citizens, other water users and the environment. In this article, and based on previous work, I present a summary that debates around the financialization of the water cycle, through the example of the provision and development of financialized water infrastructures in London.