By providing greater clarity on the scale of the water challenge and the cost of the solutions, it offers a fact-based tool to help stakeholders make informed investment decisions and guide policy discussions.
It finds that if no action is taken, by 2030, projected population and economic growth will lead to global water demand that is 40% in excess of current supply. In addition, this means that one-third of the world’s population would have access to only half the water they need, living in water basins with a 50% deficit in supply.
“Water scarcity can no longer be tackled by environmentalists alone,” says SABMiller CEO, Graham Mackay. “We must move the debate on and engage governments, business and industry leaders to show the commitments needed at an economic level to truly address this problem. Inaction on water scarcity will have severe consequences not just for our direct operations as a global brewer, but for our customers, our employees and local communities as a predicted 40% gap between supply and demand looms by 2030.”
At the basis of the report lies an analysis conducted in four countries with drastically different water issues, which will collectively account for 40% of the world’s population, 30% of global GDP and 42% of projected water demand in 2030: China, India, South Africa and Brazil (Sao Paulo state).
The report’s methodology identifies supply- and demand-side measures that could constitute a more cost-effective approach to closing the water resource gap in each country and even achieve savings in some sectors.
Moreover, the report shows that if a balanced portfolio of demand- and supply-side measures is adopted in each country, the projected water requirements in 2030 can be met at an estimated cost of $19bn a year for these countries, or just under 0.06% of their combined forecast GDP for 2030.
At a global level, the cost would amount to an estimated $50-60bn. In contrast, if only traditional supply-side measures are implemented, an additional capital expenditure of up to $200bn per year globally would be required to close the water gap. This is four times more than the balanced approach and more than double what’s currently spent on water resource provision.
To read *Charting Our Water Future* as a PDF, click here.
Source: SABMiller
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