ESG Insider: Climate change exacerbated droughts and dry weather around the world in 2021, report says
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Many regions experienced drier-than-normal weather conditions in 2021 as climate change influenced rain patterns across the globe, the World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, said in its first State of Global Water Resources report on Nov. 29.
Some of the worst-affected areas were South America’s Rio de la Plata, which has been suffering from a drought since 2019; parts of the Amazon in South America; and areas of North America including the Colorado, Missouri and Mississippi river basins, the report said.
“The impacts of climate change are often felt through water – more intense and frequent droughts, more extreme flooding, more erratic seasonal rainfall and accelerated melting of glaciers – with cascading effects on economies, ecosystems and all aspects of our daily lives,” WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
Around 3.6 billion people have inadequate access to water for at least one month every year, a figure expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050, the WMO also said. The data amassed in the report will identify hydrological hotspots and help implement adaptation efforts, the WMO said.
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ESG Insider Podcast
In the ESG Insider podcast, we speak to Walmart’s chief sustainability officer about decarbonizing supply chains. She tells us about the company’s goal of making everyday products that people buy sustainable. We also talk to the head of strategic environment programmes at ?rsted, Denmark’s largest energy company, which is teaming up with buyers in other sectors to drive supply chain decarbonization.?
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