Cooling our world is warming our planet. Here’s how we can turn down the heat.

Covering most of the planet’s surface, water is seemingly one of the most abundant substances on earth. But today, many communities and countries are facing a usable water crisis.

While millions of people worldwide use hundreds of litres of water a day, around 3.6 billion people – almost half of humanity – survives without access to safe, clean water.

More than an inconvenience, access to clean water is essential for human health, growth, wellbeing and safety, so much so that it has been recognized as a human right. A lack of it can be devastating: 1 million people die each year from lack of access to clean water and sanitation, and every two minutes a child dies from a water-borne disease. Women and girls are particularly affected when clean water is in short supply, often tasked with hauling water over long distances for communities, taking them away from education and exposing them to violent attacks or environmental threats.

Without intervention, the next few decades could make this a reality for more and more people worldwide.

With increasing demand from water-intensive industries like agriculture, rising temperatures and shrinking water reserves, there is a real threat that there won’t be enough water for humanity’s needs. It’s a problem that has had experts ringing alarm bells since before 2017.

With access to water so critical, and the problem so pressing, why isn’t water management demanding more global attention? Is anything being done to bring it into wider conversations about sustainability? On today’s trajectory, what’s the future of water?

 

The future of water as it stands

Two opposing trends paint a grim picture of the future. While global water use is set to skyrocket, global water supplies are already stressed.

To keep up with demand, experts predict that global water use will rise 20-50% as a result of human-driven climate change and overuse. So much groundwater has been pumped out of the earth that it has tilted the planet’s axis.

Heavy use of water is compounded by mismanagement: without policies, infrastructure and conservation efforts, existing water sources are being polluted, wasted or drained. Worldwide, different challenges in managing water are causing water stress for communities: from outdated infrastructure to conflict to overuse, it’s clear that alongside preserving our existing sources of water, understanding how we use what we have as a global community is just as important.

On this trajectory, developing countries will experience water insecurity over longer periods and with greater intensity, while supplies to major industries become strained. Over the next two decades, the increasing water stress will lead to a rise in related inequality, political instability, growing disease and potential sources of conflict in the most affected nations.

How can we change this trajectory?

Top priorities for cleaner, healthier water

As the global community attempts to address the challenge of building a more sustainable future, the issue of water has garnered more attention. While the subject of water has been historically absent from international sustainability efforts like the Paris Agreement, both COP27 and COP28, held in Dubai in one of the world’s most arid regions, recognized water as a priority.

As governments, institutions and communities examine their relationship with water and their future needs, there is an overall consensus that the battle for water must be fought on all fronts. As a complex issue with multiple causes, it calls for many solutions across government, education, technology and industry, all working in tandem.

Individuals – from ordinary households to decision makers at the helm of major corporations – must gain a better understanding of the impact of water usage and consumption. Awareness campaigns like the USA’s Save Our Water can help change behavior and influence change at the individual level. At the national level, governments can leverage policy to support better understanding and use of water management.

Backed by funding, recent innovations in water management technology have the potential to help restore and manage water. Emerging AI and big data technologies, in particular, hold much promise. A pilot project in the Ramotswa Aquifer between South Africa and Botswana, for example, is harnessing AI to analyze water levels in the drought-prone area, helping identify patterns and inform water management decisions. AI-assisted geospatial analysis is also helping smallholders in Ethiopia to identify shallow well locations, something that promises to significantly improve crop yield and access to drinking water.

While new technologies have the potential to help solve significant challenges, prioritizing cost-effective and culturally compatible solutions remains key. Obstacles like supply chain coordination, training and distribution also need to be overcome for effective implementation. Introducing innovative financial instruments like water credits (akin to carbon credits) could incentivize investment in water-related initiatives and contribute to sustainable water management practices worldwide.

Climate Adaptation and Mitigation

The issue of water is inextricably tied to the wider climate emergency. Meeting the Paris goals by reducing carbon emissions, implementing overall climate mitigation measures and adapting to today’s changes are a key part of addressing the water crisis and building safeguards for the future.

Climate adaptation measures can be integrated into water systems and infrastructure and are essential for building resilience to climate change-induced water scarcity and extreme weather events. This involves implementing strategies such as rainwater harvesting, enhancing water storage capacity, and improving flood management systems to mitigate the impacts of climate change and ensure reliable access to water.

More broadly, general climate mitigation efforts are fundamental for addressing the underlying causes of the global water crisis. By mitigating climate change, we can help stabilize weather patterns, reduce the intensity of droughts and floods, and safeguard water resources for future generations.

Water is a critical resource, and its future is in our hands. To help people access water today and ensure water security for tomorrow, the global community must recognize, invest and mobilize to create better water management practices and safeguard the precious water we have remaining. The task is complex, but vital. We must come together to solve the problems we face for a greener, more sustainable future.

With the world still buzzing from the Euros and Copa América, the Olympics now take center stage. As we travel the countries of the world through these international competitions, it's a powerful reminder of how sports transcend borders and ignite global change. Beyond the thrill of competition and national pride, sports have a long history of being a catalyst for progress.

In the 20th century, Muhammad Ali opposed the Vietnam War and Billie Jean King fought for gender equality. More recently, NFL star Colin Kaepernick took a knee to raise awareness about racism, and English footballer Marcus Rashford helped secure free meals for impoverished schoolchildren. Can sport also help address the greatest challenge of our time?

Enjoyed by billions across the planet, sport is a vast, inclusive platform. It can play a key role in raising awareness, influencing behaviors and changing attitudes to climate action. In some cases, it can even pioneer high-impact solutions to reduce global emissions.

Leading by example

Before it can influence others, sport must take a look at its own carbon footprint.

Elite sport has rightly been criticized for its environmental record. The 2022 FIFA World Cup alone, which took place in Qatar, produced 3.63 million tons of CO2, the equivalent to Montenegro's emissions over an entire year. To make any kind of impact, sports teams and their governing bodies must start by championing sustainable practices themselves. And some trailblazers are already taking the initiative.

Facilities are perhaps the most visible sign of a team’s commitment to sustainability, something the Atlanta Falcons recognized when building the new Mercedez-Benz Stadium. It became the first professional sports stadium to receive LEED Platinum status. This urgency has filtered down to the local level, with British football team Forest Green Rovers set to build a 5,000-capacity stadium entirely out of timber and generate renewable electricity on site. Facilities like these are used constantly throughout the year, so turning them green is a big opportunity.

Another focus area is how events and matchdays are managed. The Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena diverts, composts, reuses or recycles more than 90% of its waste, becoming the world’s first zero-waste sports venue. The Paris Olympics 2024, meanwhile, is vowing to be the “greenest ever games,” using mostly existing infrastructure and putting public transport at the heart of its sustainability strategy. Organizers are bolstering the city’s infrastructure, so that every event is accessible by train, bus, bike or tram, targeting a 50% reduction in carbon emissions compared to previous games. Events like the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are thinking even more creatively, enabling eco-conscious fans to plant mangroves for every plastic bottle they hand in.

That the captain should lead by example is one of the oldest truisms in sport, and it is just as relevant when it comes to sustainability. Sporting teams and organizations will need to convince fans that they’re taking sustainability seriously for them to engage with climate campaigns.

Winning hearts and minds

Sports stars shaping behaviors and opinions is nothing new. Through sponsorships and advertising deals, they’ve been doing it long before we had ever even heard of terms like “influencer.” While this has always tended to be commercially driven, some are using their platform to raise awareness about important issues, including climate change.

Some athletes have become ambassadors for important sustainability NGOs, amplifying their advocacy work and calling for donations. Tennis star Andy Murray, for example, is a well-known ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). International Olympic athletes came together in a powerful video urging world leaders to take robust climate action at COP26.

Others act as role models, inspiring their fans to adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles. F1 star Lewis Hamilton is one of many high-profile athletes who advocate for a vegan diet. Meanwhile, the UAE Team Emirates cycling team have pledged to go net-zero by 2030. They have implemented various measures to cut carbon from their operations and encourage people to travel by bike through a range of community initiatives.

High-profile athletes can also make a difference by taking more direct action. Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has launched Cricket for Climate, an initiative helping grassroots clubs switch to cleaner energy. Cummins is also part of The Cool Down campaign, a network of fellow Australian professional sportsmen and women pushing for their government to adopt stronger climate measures.

Sports stars are among the most revered celebrities in our society. They are in a unique position as role models who, by embracing sustainable lifestyles and championing sustainable causes, can influence fans around the world to go green. In an age where trust in politicians, institutions and media is dwindling, their ability to inform opinions and influence behaviors cannot be underestimated.

Pioneering game-changing innovations

While many recognize sport’s “soft” power in advocating for climate action, its role in advancing important new technologies is often overlooked.

Competition is the essence of sport. When sustainability is integrated into that competition, teams wage an innovation arms race, refining technologies that can accelerate the green transition.

Sail GP set up an Impact League running alongside its main racing series. Teams clock up points for sustainable measures and initiatives, the eventual winner receiving a cash prize to donate to their chosen causes. This year it has already seen teams redesigning parts to minimize plastic waste and installing solar panels to power their support infrastructure.

Gains are being made on land, too. Formula E and Extreme E are pitting the most advanced electric vehicles against one another on race and rally tracks – and the competition is fierce. It has already drawn in some of the world’s most renowned engineering companies like McLaren, pushing the limits of battery and charging technology to gain an edge over their opponents. Closer to home, some of the world’s best AI driving models are put to the test in the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL). These competitions are breeding breakthroughs that could have a tangible impact in reducing global transport emissions.

Sport provides the perfect conditions (and, crucially, funding) for innovators to thrive. As they vie to outdo one another, teams redefine what is possible, building or improving tools which will be instrumental to the net-zero transition. Perhaps more sports could follow suit to harness sporting competition for sustainable means.

Down but not out

If humanity’s struggle against climate change were a sports match, we would be several points down with only minutes to spare. And in this game, a loss is something we simply cannot come back from.

Sport has the potential to play a key role in gaining ground on climate change – whether by shaping opinions, mobilizing fans or honing clean technologies. Yet, currently, this potential is only sparingly transformed into meaningful action.

Teams, athletes and sporting bodies can reach billions of people across the world with campaigns to raise awareness and inspire action to address climate change. But they must start by tackling their own considerable emissions. And in this effort, competitors must become teammates, to set common goals and share knowledge.

From the roar of the crowd to the quiet revolution of innovation, sport can lead the charge toward a more sustainable future for all.

Reviving the Aral  

The completion of the Kokaral Dam in 2005, financed by the World Bank, was a vital turning point, offering the Aral Sea hope at its lowest ebb. The dam has led to an 18% increase in the volume of the northern part of the lake in Kazakhstan. Several fish species now thrive, as do the fishermen: Within ten years, their annual catch grew fivefold. A second World-Bank-financed dam nearby is set to continue the transformation of the local ecosystem and bring the entire reservoir’s temperature and salinity levels closer to 1960 levels, encouraging biodiversity.

Across the border in Uzbekistan, mass planting of saxaul shrubs is underway, in partnership with USAID. In just four years, these robust plants, which act as the first line of defense against desertification, have helped restore over half of the country’s three million hectares of degraded land.  

Encouragingly, these measures are being matched by impactful water management reforms and investment at the governmental level. Uzbekistan is reconstructing irrigation networks, modernizing water management systems and introducing drought-resistant crops. Farming subsidies for water-saving agricultural technologies could reduce consumption by 40-50% and mineral fertilizers by 25-30%. The impact has already been immense. From just 28,000 hectares of farmland in 2018, these technologies now cover 1 million hectares - representing 27 percent of the total irrigated area. The government intends to double this by the end of 2025. 

International collaboration 

These country initiatives feed into the efforts of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), founded 30 years ago by the five nations of Central Asia. A unique collaborative effort, the fund is the most important platform for regional cooperation, encouraging member states to work together to share transboundary water and address the environmental and socio-economic problems of the Aral Sea basin. Kazakhstan is hoping to use its chairmanship of the fund to formalize an agreement to regulate the flow of the Syr Darya, one of the Aral’s main tributaries, helping avoid droughts in downstream countries. 

In addition, the UN-backed Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region aims to channel financing into innovative solutions for this complex challenge. In 2021, the UN General Assembly declared the Aral Sea region a 'zone of environmental innovations and technologies', to encourage international research and scientific collaboration in the area. 

It is unlikely that the Aral Sea will ever return to its 1960 level, but recent progress has handed this struggling waterway a vital lifeline. The sea’s rapid bounce back over just two decades shows the vast potential of water management measures, for the local ecosystem and the people whose livelihoods depend on it.  


Hope for the future 

The plight of the Aral Sea is an alarming glimpse into the planet’s future if we do not manage our precious natural resources responsibly. The lessons we can draw from both its destruction and revival apply everywhere.  

Rivers, lakes and seas are a vital lifeline that billions depend on for food, livelihoods and power. Their steward governments have a responsibility to work together to share the benefits fairly and sustainably. That means supporting farmers with efficient water infrastructure and providing the right incentives to help them switch to more sustainable crops and practices. It means working collaboratively to ensure a regular flow from source to sea to stabilize regional climates.  

While water management may not be taking center stage at COP29, it is critical to the wider goals of the Paris Agreement. It might just bring our struggling waterways back to life.