The world needs to properly manage its freshwater resources, but thirsty new technology billed as answers may cause “serious problems” if left unchecked, according to UN research.
Approximately half of the world’s population is facing severe water scarcity, with climate change-related droughts affecting over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021, according to a report released on Friday by the UN cultural agency UNESCO.
According to the report, more than 2 billion people did not have access to safe drinking water by 2022, and 3.5 billion did not have access to adequate toilet facilities. In addition, medications, hormones, and industrial pollutants are contaminating the world’s rivers.
The situation will be addressed by education, data collection, and investment. It also demonstrated the limitations of modern computer-based solutions.
“A variety of technologies are available to improve both water supply, water use efficiency, and the quality and scope of sanitation services,” it stated.
Nonetheless, “several rapidly emerging technologies are highly water-intensive and, if left unchecked, could lead to serious problems in the near future.”
According to the report, artificial intelligence (AI) can improve river basin management, emergency response, and the operation and maintenance of water supply and wastewater treatment plants.
While climate change is expected to exacerbate patterns of record rainfall and drought in the next years, solutions to the problem were also consuming an excessive amount of water, it warned.
To limit planet-warming carbon pollution, one approach known as carbon capture and storage extracts CO2 from the exhaust of fossil fuel-fired power plants and heavy industries such as steel and cement factories.
According to the report, energy production accounts for 10 to 15% of worldwide water withdrawals, including the extraction of fossil fuels and the cooling of thermal and nuclear power stations.
While wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources are more water-efficient, they still rely on lithium batteries for power storage.
