Women fill water from a municipal water tank in the village of Peth Taluka, India, May 26, 2023.
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Water scarcity is seen as the most important and potentially most impactful component of the wider climate crisis, and researchers say large Asian economies such as India and China will be the most affected by these water shortages.
Asia is an industrialized hub with the fastest rate of urbanization, which requires a lot of water, Arunabha Ghosh, chief executive of the Energy, Environment and Water Council, told Singapore on the sidelines of the annual Ecological Prosperity Week CNBC last Tuesday.
“It’s not just old industries like steelmaking, but emerging industries like semiconductor chip manufacturing and the transition to clean energy that require a lot of water,” Ghosh said. “Asia is the growth engine of the world, and these industries are the new drivers of its economic growth.”
Global freshwater demand is projected to exceed supply by 40% to 50% by 2030. Ghosh warned that water scarcity cannot be seen as a sectoral issue, but one that “transcends the entire economy”.
Asian economies “must understand that this is a common regional interest and it is in their own interest to mitigate the risks they face to prevent the economic shock of severe water scarcity,” he said.
India, now the most populous country in the world, will be the hardest hit by water scarcity. Although it has 18% of the world’s population, its water resources are only sufficient for 4% of the population, making it the most water-scarce country in the world. world bank explain.
The South Asian country relies heavily on the monsoon season to meet water needs, but climate change is causing more floods and droughts to hit the country and exacerbate water shortages.
China is in the same boat
About 80% to 90% of China’s groundwater is unfit for drinking, while half of its aquifers are too polluted for industry and agriculture, according to the Lowy Institute, an independent think tank. 50% of the river’s water is also unfit for drinking, and half of it is also unfit for agricultural production.
Although the world’s second largest economy Despite progress in the transition to clean energy, its power system still relies heavily on coal. If there is no water, there is no coal.
“Water is a critical input for generating electricity in a coal-fired power plant, and if water becomes scarce or unusable for generating electricity, then the plant will fail,” Ghosh stressed.
Other developing countries in the region are in a similar situation, but their water crises may be more difficult to solve. Countries like the Philippines do not enjoy privilege and resilience, so there is “a huge imbalance in the water crisis we face,” said Shanshan Wang, head of the water practice in Singapore at sustainability consultancy Arup.
A villager drives sheep on the exposed riverbed of a reservoir in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, May 25, 2023.
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India and China are more vulnerable to rising sea levels due to their proximity to oceans and rivers, but they are capable of providing technology and innovation for better water storage systems, Wang told CNBC last Tuesday during Singapore International Water Week.
Meanwhile, Wayne Middleton, head of Arup’s Australian water practice, said, “We need to put our hands up and say we don’t recognize the value of our river systems, we’ve used them for industrial use and agriculture. “We’ve only recently seen the damage we’ve done,” he said.
It is unlikely that Western countries will remain unscathed from the risks associated with this water crisis. Europe’s water problems are expected to get worse as the climate emergency deepens and the resource becomes increasingly scarce. After a winter heat wave that wreaked havoc on its rivers and ski resorts, the region saw high temperatures in spring.
Most Affected Sectors
Taiwan, home to Asia’s largest semiconductor industry, succumbed to water scarcity again after less than two years Battling the worst drought in a century. Vast amounts of water are needed to power factories and manufacture the semiconductor chips that go into our digital devices, and if a shortage occurs, supply could be hampered.
Wang emphasized: “Taiwan is a country with a lot of hydropower, and it has always been faced with the dilemma of whether to store water for its semiconductor industry, or to release water so that they can have more hydropower.”
“Drought and flooding are both a problem for Taiwan, so the industry is unfortunate and vulnerable,” she added.
However, Wang points out that while many manufacturing industries do need water to function, the water is not actually used up and can be recycled.
“Water scarcity is not a particularly serious problem for these industries because a lot of the water can be recycled. The process pollutes the water, and many industries may just want to pour water directly back into the ecosystem, rather than purify and reuse it,” she says.
“Now that there is a crisis, businesses have an opportunity to think about how to close the loop … they can’t just take whatever is available for themselves.”
Water also plays a huge role in the planned energy transition, and water scarcity could hinder countries’ transition to net-zero emissions. In 2022, China will experience the worst heat wave and drought in six years. Sweltering temperatures have dried up the Yangtze River Basin, hampering its ability to generate hydroelectric power – the country’s second-largest energy source.
The Gezhouba water conservancy project on the Yangtze River after a heavy rain in Yichang, Hubei Province, China.
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To mitigate energy risks, the country last year approved the most new coal-fired power plants since 2015. In 2022, Beijing approved 106 gigawatts of new coal-fired power installed capacity, a four-fold increase year-on-year, equivalent to 100 large thermal power plants.
“We need a massive energy transition to renewables to power our new water supply, and we need water to ensure energy security,” Middleton said. “We need to start bringing those two conversations together more .”
Economies that rely heavily on agriculture are also likely to see sharp declines in production, putting food security at further risk.
according to Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the value of agricultural production is projected to decline by 14% between 2023 and 2024, to $79 billion. This is due to dry conditions expected to reduce crop production from record levels in 2022-2023.
Arup’s Middleton noted: “We can certainly build new water systems to supply Australia’s industry, customers and cities, but we can’t really maintain an adequate supply through a prolonged drought.”
“Of course we have to provide water for our cities, our large economies and our communities, but this poses increasing risks to the food production and agriculture sectors,” he said.