Lebanese Ministry of Information
THE world is on the verge of a water crisis, experts have warned, with big business shelling out an incredible £23.4 billion to secure their supplies.
Flooding, huge storms, such as Hurricane Harvey, and raging forest fires of the kind that ripped through California are all contributing to the crisis.
He said: “From Bangladesh to Peru and the US, climate risks – and in particular water risks – have been very real in 2017.
“From storms to droughts, and floods to forest fires, the damage has been enormous.”
The UK is also affected, with increasing numbers of hosepipe bans over the summer months to prevent a drought in the south.
It is thought the rise in population worldwide and increasing consumption could be escalating the crisis.
“The growing world population, changes in consumer behaviour, and climate change are having a significant impact on the scarcity and quality of water.”
Big name firms splurging money on water security include Sony, Coca Cola, GlaxoSmithKline and Kellogg.
Paul Simpson, chief executive of CDP, warned the potential economic risks were huge, with losses running into billions of pounds, and welcomed the huge financial commitment by firm
He said: “The stakes are high as we assess corporate progress towards a water-secure world.
“From brand damage to disrupted supply chains, increased operating costs to constrained growth, water security is now big business and poses increasingly significant threats and opportunities to global firms.”
But others have warned the steps taken so far are not nearly enough.
Eoin Murray, head of investments at Uk asset management firm Hermes, told the Financial Times: “Businesses are not yet taking this seriously enough.
“The spending is still a drop in the ocean. But any kind of progress is welcome.”
Express
