We can turn water from an emitter to a source of life, health and resilience. Here's how.

Imagine it’s 2050, and the water sector’s 10 percent share of greenhouse gas emissions back in 2020 is now down to zero. 

Freshwater resources have been protected and restored, and are being reused around the world, along with wastewater. The work to extract, store, deliver, use, treat and reuse water is powered entirely by renewable energy. Regenerative agriculture is a global norm. Half of freshwater ecosystems and inland waters - such as wetlands, peatlands and mangroves - are now sequestering carbon dioxide, reversing biodiversity loss and supporting resilience and livelihoods for nearby communities. They buffer us from the spread of pandemics. 

We are already in this race to zero emissions and greater resilience in the 2040s. But we need to go faster - and the water industry will benefit if it gets out ahead. 

As of 2020, emissions from water utilities were on par with those from shipping and on track to more than double by 2040. Growing demand for increasingly scarce water supplies was expected to drive the need for more energy-intensive sources such as desalination, large water transfers and more treatment. As a result, water demand is forecast to exceed sustainable supply by 40 percent by 2030.   

But in 2021, the water industry faces a choice: continue down this destructive business as usual path, where no one wins, or commit to the race to zero emissions and greater resilience by 2050. 

The transformation requires the sector to produce, use and treat more water with fewer resources. It sounds like a tall order, but it’s actually an opportunity to be seized. The UK water sector have identified a 10-point plan for decarbonization that they state will help protect customer bills and keep investment costs down while supporting the development of green skills and nature-based solutions as part of the economic recovery.

The more the water sector contributes to climate change, the more unstable water supplies and their customers become. Climate change manifests itself largely through changes in the water cycle: through floods, droughts, super-storms, rising sea levels and other extreme weather events. When one considers that the 50 largest water utility companies supply over 1 billion people, it is clear that enhancing the resilience of the sector is a win-win situation and must go hand-in-hand with mitigation. 

Change is already underway. Ten water utilities have already joined the Race to Zero campaign including Aguas Andinas, Suez and Yara Valley Water. Four companies in the UK have also joined the race and they are intending to cross the finishing line much faster than their peers. These companies, including Anglian Water, United Utilities, Severn Trent and South East Water, have published the world's first sector-wide plan to deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2030 - two decades before the UK government's legally binding commitment and the world's first sector-wide commitment of its kind.

The companies making these transformations are putting water and climate at the heart of their business, fully integrating it into their strategies and ensuring accountability for water and climate targets at the highest level. Long-term zero emission goals and greater resilience by 2050 or sooner must be bound by credible, robust frameworks, including short-term targets, transparent progress reports and plans for decarbonizing direct and indirect emissions.

That level of bold ambition, innovation and commitment to transparency is how we will get to a healthier, cleaner, safer 2050 - where people and communities are surviving and thriving and the worst impacts of climate change have been averted.

Find out more about how the water sector can take action on climate change by joining the Race to Zero.