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What will it take for the world to get serious about water?
Why did it take over twenty years for the UN's marquee climate conference to start talking about water? "It's undervalued and therefore, it's not getting the attention it deserves because people don't see the actual value addition of engaging with it," says James Dalton of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
"Roundabout 90% of global water policy is out of date," says James Dalton of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. "We're effectively 40 years behind where we need to be on the policy calendar when it comes to being able to better manage our water resources."
He says that lack of attention has led humanity to "abuse the resource," overtaxing existing freshwater resources and exposing them to pollution. And as climate change threatens to create an even more dangerous and volatile water cycle, he asks, "can we get the direct action happening quickly enough before we really start to feel the pain of this?"
Dalton spoke at a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.
Watch the full livestream conversation: The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future
The world is way behind on water policy | James Dalton
When's the last time you remember a politician bringing up water policy on the campaign trail? It's far from the sexiest subject, but it absolutely merits discussion as climate change and overuse of water resources pose serious threats to the world's water systems.
"Roundabout 90% of global water policy is out of date," says James Dalton of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. "We're effectively 40 years behind where we need to be on the policy calendar when it comes to being able to better manage our water resources."
The good news, he says, is progress is being made on frameworks to improve transparency around water policy and craft systems better suited to individual local needs. But he's worried about the technical skills required to manage complex sources like groundwater, and how competing interests will impact the development of new policy. Dalton spoke at a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.
Watch the full livestream conversation: The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future
Why businesses are leapfrogging governments on water issues
Water is an incredibly personal topic, integral to the lives and traditions of communities everywhere. That means companies must be very careful about how they use water resources, even those to which they are legally entitled, says Shari Friedman, Eurasia Group's Managing Director for Climate and Sustainability.
"If they're taking it away or they're polluting a source, it's something that's incredibly visible, as people use it," she said. "And it's something the press can pick up on pretty quickly, and it affects a company's license to operate."
That reputational risk has led some companies to start proactively rolling out plans to manage water use and keep sources clean and sustainable even in the absence of government regulations. But the government still has a role to play, said Friedman, pointing to emerging regulations around so-called "forever chemicals" and the European Union's attempt to improve river health by 2027.
She spoke at a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.
Watch the full livestream conversation: The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future
Young activist stage the last protest in COP28 conference venue.
Good COP, Bad COP
It was a chaotic COP28, to say the least. But after 28 years of climate negotiations, on Wednesday representatives from nearly 200 countries signed an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.
The agreement contains much stronger language on fossil fuels compared to a previous proposal, which said nations “could” take actions to slash greenhouse gas emissions, giving fossil fuel-producing countries – including COP28’s host, the United Arab Emirates – the option to not give up the Golden Goose.
President Sultan al-Jaber, an Emirati oil company executive leading the talks, gavelled in approval of this earlier version on Wednesday morning without giving critics a chance to speak, and when representatives of small island nations – who have been outspoken that they “will not go silently to [their] watery graves'' – were not present. Al-Jaber’s statement that there was “no science” to support a phaseout sparked an uproar, sending the conference into overtime.
The US and Canada joined forces with small island nations to insist that a fossil fuel phaseout make it into the agreement. In the end, the countries compromised to “transition away” from fossil fuels. This is the first time the root cause of the climate crisis has been stated in a decision in nearly 30 years of environment talks.
But critics say the final document contains “a litany of loopholes.” Fossil fuels are just called “transitional fuels” and are condoned to “facilitate the energy transition.” It legitimizes gas burning on the basis that it is less polluting than coal, though liquefied natural gas may be worse than coal due to methane leaks.
After a year of devastating natural disasters, Canada came to the conference as the only major oil-producing country to implement an emissions cap. Ottawa also announced the world’s most ambitious methane regulations it claims will lead to emissions reductions of at least 75% by 2030. It is also the first G20 nation to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, two years ahead of the deadline.
Meanwhile, the US had less to be proud of. While the Inflation Reduction Act marked the most aggressive climate investment in US history, oil and gas production is at record highs, and it is planning continued expansion, especially in LNG.
Talk is cheap. The agreement called for a tripling of renewable energy by 2030. But whether that can happen depends on how much money is offered for emerging economies and low-income countries, and how soon. All details are left for next year's COP, which will be hosted by Azerbaijan, another petrostate. However, a $700 million fund was formally established to offer money to countries that have suffered irreparable economic losses and damages, and the World Bank and the IMF were called upon to expedite loans for energy projects in developing countries.
A key test for national governments will come in 2025, when every country is expected to set its next round of climate targets. COP30 is the one to watch, as it will be held in the Brazilian Amazon, a region on the frontlines of the climate change crisis, which is expected to amplify the voices of vulnerable countries.
Water scarcity can sink a city, says expert Tanvi Nagpal
Who ends up paying for all the waste and losses from old, leaky water systems? Ordinary families. For the most part, they have no choice but to foot higher and higher bills just to keep access to the water they need to live.
However, failure to invest in water systems and keep costs low for consumers can lead to huge consequences, according to Tanvi Nagpal, water policy expert and consultant for Tetra Tech. For example, Jakarta's failure to keep its water system up with its population growth led people to dig wells to provide themselves with the needed water. The result? One of the largest cities in the world and an economic engine of southeast Asia is physically sinking into the ground.
"We must think through an approach where we believe that everybody should get water, not just because we deserve water, but because it's important for all of society that everybody get this access to clean water," she said at a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.
Watch the full livestream conversation: The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future
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Saving the planet is big business | Minoj Jain
Can saving the planet's freshwater be profitable? Most certainly, says Manoj Jain, investment director at Unison Capital.
"The material recovery conversion of waste and plastic into fuel, desulfurizing the air, the flue-gases, all this is very profitable business," he said at a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.
Creating a circular economy that minimizes waste drives his investment decisions, seeking out emerging technologies to help the world push past outdated production methods. Hear more about how solving water scarcity can create economic growth here.
Watch the full livestream conversation: The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future
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Water scarcity: How Suntory is optimizing for beverage production
You won't be surprised to hear that companies that make drinks need a lot of water. Suntory, one of the leading beverage producers in the world, is no exception. However, they have come up with an exceptional response to the issue, according to Shigeaki Kazama , Executive Officer and Division Deputy COO of the Sustainability Management Division at Suntory Holdings..
To offset the water Suntory draws from Japan's underground aquifers, they manage a vast system of forest preserves. They help recharge the resource by maintaining a cool, wet environment that allows groundwater to seep back into the earth rather than run off or evaporate.
"We now manage 22 forest areas that total over 12,000 hectares, which recharge twice the amount of groundwater that we take for our production in Japan," he said during a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.
Watch the full livestream conversation: The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future
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Scene of the terrorist knife attack near the Bir Hakeim bridge and Quai de Grenelle, where one German tourist was killed, and two others were injured in Paris late Saturday.
Hard Numbers: Deadly terror attack in Paris, troubled South China Sea waters, migrants in English Channel, COP28 methane plans, twins for 70-year-old mom
3: A 26-year-old French national who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State attacked three people near the Eiffel Tower in Paris late Saturday, killing a German tourist and leaving two others, including a British man, wounded. President Emmanuel Macron called the incident "a terrorist attack."
135: More than 135 Chinese vessels “swarmed” the Julian Felipe reef off the coast of the Philippines in the South China Sea on Sunday. China and the Philippines have been involved in an increasing number of such incidents, as China aggressively asserts its claim to the sea under its so-called nine-dash line.
190: French authorities rescued 190 migrants off the coast of Calais in northern France over the weekend. The migrants were trying to cross the English Channel on dinghies to reach Britain, but authorities did not specify from which country the migrants had originally come.
30: At this week’s COP28 meeting in the UAE, the Biden administration unveiled final rules aimed at reducing the US oil and gas industry’s release of methane to help in the fight against climate change. Nations attending the summit had to detail how they will cut methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
70:A 70-year-old Ugandan woman has become the oldest woman in Africa to give birth. Safina Namukwaya delivered a boy and a girl on Wednesday by cesarean section after conceiving through IVF. Born at 34 weeks' gestation, the babies are healthy and weigh 2 kilograms each. They were Namukwaya’s second delivery in three years, following the birth of a girl in 2020.