"World Water Day: Tackling the Global Water Crisis in the Era of Climate Change"

"On World Water Day, the IEA focuses on the critical importance of sustainable water management, particularly relevant in 2024 with the theme 'Water for Peace.'

Equitable and sustainable access to water is essential not only for individual well-being but also as a foundation for global stability and prosperity.

The IEA highlights that despite technological progress, 2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, and a vast majority of the global population faces significant water shortages at least once a year.

Water and Energy: An Inseparable Link Amid the Growing Global Water Crisis

The situation is expected to worsen in many areas of the world, where climate change and increasing demand, driven by population growth and economic expansion, intensify pressure on already scarce water resources.

The close interconnection between water and energy use emerges as a crucial theme. The energy sector, consuming about 10% of global freshwater resources, heavily depends on water for electricity generation, fossil fuel extraction, and biofuel production.

Simultaneously, water extraction, pumping, and treatment require significant amounts of energy, highlighting a cycle of mutual dependence that underscores the urgency of finding efficient and sustainable solutions.

The Middle East, where water stress reaches particularly high levels, exemplifies the importance of desalination as an adaptation strategy to water scarcity. With thousands of plants in over 150 countries, desalination significantly contributes to daily water needs, especially in areas with limited freshwater resources.

Climate Challenges and Innovations: Towards Sustainable Water and Energy Resources

These dynamics raise critical questions about the environmental sustainability and resilience of water and energy infrastructures in the face of climate change. Altered precipitation patterns, along with increasingly frequent and intense droughts and floods, exacerbate the vulnerability of water resources, while rising sea levels and groundwater extraction increase the risk of saltwater intrusion, further compromising freshwater availability.

The growing pressure from climate change is likely to increase energy consumption for desalination and other water supply practices, highlighting the importance of innovative initiatives that can reduce the environmental impact of these processes.

Finding solutions that combine efficient water and energy use is therefore crucial to ensuring a future where safe water is accessible to all, supporting not only human health and economic development but also international peace and stability."