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What role can a speculative political ecology play in (re)imaging urban futures of climate extremes? In recent years, narratives of dystopian futures of climate extremes have proliferated in geosciences, and across the media and creative arts. These anxiety-fueled narratives often generate a sense of resignation and unavoidability, which contributes to foreclosing the possibility of radically different political projects. In this article, we argue that these narratives conceal the coproduction of nature and society and treat nature as the problem, thereby locking futures into dystopic configurations. Political ecology scholarship can contribute to generate a politics of possibility by reconceptualizing the relations that constitute urban futures under climate extremes as socionatural. This, we argue, calls for a more experimental political ecology and new forms of theorizing. To this aim, we develop a speculative political ecological approach grounded on a numerical model that examines the potential of transformative change in the aftermath of extreme flood events in a capitalist city. Analytically, this opens a unique possibility of exploring urban futures beyond current trajectories, and how these alternative futures might transform vulnerability and inequality across urban spaces. From a policy perspective, we lay the foundations for a new generation of models that apprehend the role of power and agency in shaping uneven urban futures of climate extremes.

In the face of unrelenting water crises, water-saving technologies (WSTs) are increasingly relied upon as a paradigm for managing scarce water resources in the agricultural sector. This approach is gaining momentum in international forums and among development practitioners focused on improving the sustainability and efficiency of their water security interventions. Following this trend, the integration of market incentives to foster the uptake of WSTs is not surprising. However, recent literature on WSTs and related incentives paints an ambiguous picture of the impact these technologies can have. On one hand, there is evidence that supports the efficacy of market incentives in promoting water-saving practices and the adoption of WSTs. On the other hand, there are also concerns about the potential adverse consequences of introducing WSTs, including promoting unsustainable water consumption and exacerbating inequalities. This study focuses on Mercy Corps’ water innovation technologies program in Jordan, a country grappling with severe water scarcity. It specifically examines how market mechanisms played a crucial role in saving approximately 24 million cubic meters of water, equivalent to around 9500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Driven by this significant achievement, the study delves deeper into the efficacy of market-based approaches, while also considering their potential limitations. The conclusion offers a critical perspective on how the promotion of WSTs through market-based approaches can ensure that water savings contribute to both environmental sustainability and human well-being. In particular, Mercy Corps’ practitioner perspective advocates for governance reforms that limit and prevent unsustainable consumption, facilitate and ensure equitable access to WSTs, and promote the fair redistribution of water savings across different users.

Abstract Predicting floods and droughts is essential to inform the development of policy in water management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Yet, hydrological predictions are highly uncertain, while the frequency, severity and spatial distribution of extreme events are further complicated by the increasing impact of human activities on the water cycle. In this commentary, we argue that four main aspects characterizing the complexity of human‐water systems should be explicitly addressed: feedbacks, scales, tradeoffs and inequalities. We propose the integration of multiple research methods as a way to cope with complexity and develop policy‐relevant science.