The chronicle of a water crisis foretold and the Blue Deal

Existing tools to address water challenges remain fragmented across EU policies despite the water stress intensifying across Europe because of climate change. Establishing water as a standalone strategic priority on a par with the EU Green Deal has now become a must, writes Pietro Francesco De Lotto.

Pietro Francesco De Lotto is member of the Employers’ Group and president of the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change at the European Economic and Social Committee.

One just needs to check Copernicus satellite images to understand how European regions grapple with water scarcity. Scientists agree summer droughts could become the norm in western Europe. Four of the past five summers have been extremely dry. An extreme heat weather event that would have happened once every 10 years is now happening three times every 10 years. It’s possible that within a decade, things will get worse.

Europeans use billions of cubic metres of water yearly for drinking water, farming, manufacturing, heating and cooling, tourism and other service sectors. With thousands of freshwater lakes, rivers and underground water sources available, the water supply in Europe may seem limitless. But population growth, urbanisation, pollution and the effects of climate change, such as persistent droughts, are putting a huge strain on Europe’s water supplies and on its quality.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), about 20% of Europe and 30% of Europeans are affected by water scarcity during an average year. At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. About 88.2 % of Europe’s freshwater use (drinking and other uses) comes from rivers and groundwater, while the rest comes from Reservoirs (10.3 %) and Lakes (1,5 %), which makes these sources extremely vulnerable to threats posed by over-exploitation, pollution and climate change.

The EU estimated last year that drought-related damage would cost about €9bn per year, soaring to an annual €40bn if global warming reached 3C. Temperatures have already increased by at least 1.1C since pre-industrial times, according to scientists.

Since the 1970s, the EU has set up stringent legal frameworks and developed initiatives to protect water resources. However, many of the objectives have not been reached due to insufficient funding, slow implementation and insufficient integration of environmental objectives in sectoral policies.

Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, two relate to water. The EU has made only moderate progress towards SDG 14, “Life below water.” As for SDG 6, “Clean water and sanitation”, trends regarding water quality in the EU are negative, with concentrations of some surface and groundwater pollutants rising.

This is why, over the last year, the European Economic and Social Committee has started to invest time and resources to ring alarm bells, demanding a different approach, a swift transition towards a water-smart society: A Blue Deal.

The existing tools to address water challenges remain fragmented, and water-related objectives are not well integrated across all EU policies. A standalone strategic priority on par with the EU Green Deal has become a must!

We need to start with carefully evaluating the underground sewer systems in all member States and mapping water resources and investments in each EU country to obtain up-to-date information on the state of existing water infrastructure and identify pressing investment needs.

Every economic sector should abide by specific water quality and usage standards. All water users in the EU, including agriculture, industry, households and public administrations, should adopt sustainable practices to reduce water consumption and be encouraged to equip themselves with devices that help them achieve more sustainable use and consumption of water. Agriculture and industry need to bear the societal cost of their water consumption and emissions, as this will lead to more sustainable practices. This is why it would be advisable to make the water accounting mandatory.

Let me be clear: the EU has the opportunity to transform water-related challenges into novel prospects for technology development, societal advancement, new skills and business growth, with the ultimate goal of achieving a water-secure and resilient economy. Structured investment in R&D, water industry stewardship and skills will be essential.

However, all this calls for a Blue Transition Fund to form a single EU access point for water investments, covering the transition towards sustainable water infrastructure and management, uptake of water-efficient technologies, jobs and skills, and reducing inequalities concerning access to high-quality and affordable water and sanitation.

The fund should be adopted in no more than four years and incorporate a river basin approach, using EU financial resources already in place as a starting point but also introducing blue bonds for water investments at EU level.

Last but not least, water should be recognised as a strategic priority in the 2028-2034 programming period, and as such, the governance should be adapted by setting up a consultative EU stakeholder platform (like the one on the Circular Economy), establishing a European Water Centre including an international dimension and finally a dedicated Commission vice-president position in charge of the water portfolio.