EU Water Resilience Strategy aims to ensure clean water access and build a sustainable water economy across Europe.
🔗 Read the article on delfi.lt
[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]
The European Union has adopted a Water Resilience Strategy to ensure clean water access for all residents and to establish a sustainable, resilient, advanced, and competitive water economy across Europe. Data from the European Environment Agency shows that the water situation in the EU has steadily worsened since 2010, with 34% of EU territory and 41% of its population affected by water shortages in 2022. Southern Europe is particularly affected, with about 30% of its population living in areas with constant water scarcity. The EU anticipates that water scarcity issues will not decrease by 2030 due to climate change. The agricultural sector is identified as a major contributor to water pollution and overuse, with nitrates from fertilizers affecting nearly a third of Europe’s groundwater and surface water bodies. Climate change is exacerbating the water crisis, leading to more frequent and intense droughts, which could affect up to 65 million people in the EU and the UK by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Economically, water shortages threaten the agricultural and energy sectors, potentially causing billions of euros in losses by 2050 and 45 billion euros by 2100 due to droughts alone. Currently, drought is a serious issue in Italy, particularly in Sicily, while Spain is recovering from a long drought but remains vigilant about future restrictions. The new Water Resilience Strategy outlines over 50 actions focused on three main goals: restoring and protecting the entire water cycle, creating a hydrologically advanced economy to promote efficient water use, and ensuring access to clean and affordable water through increased water saving and awareness among users and businesses.
