Steve Freedman, Sustainability and Research manager, Thematic Equities at Pictet Asset Management, says the challenge with global access to safe water and sewage is to achieve it sustainably.
As the world races to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the carbon footprint of the water industry is moving in the opposite direction. The priority here is to guarantee access to safe drinking water and sewage services around the world – which means installing more infrastructure and processing more water and more wastewater. Total emissions will inevitably have to increase. The challenge is to limit that increase as much as possible.
Today, the water and sewage industry generates around 1.55 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases per year – or around 3% of all global emissions. Although, one in four people still do not have access to safe drinking water and 46% lack safe sanitation.
To remedy this, the industry’s carbon footprint will nearly double by 2050 to 2.82 billion tonnes if there is no improvement in efficiency, according to research by the Pictet-Water Thematic Advisory Board.
However, some 200 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year could be saved by decarbonising water production. That could include better management of water pressure, as well as monitoring (and fixing) of any leaks.
The water industry could reduce its environmental footprint further still if it could find a way decarbonise the sewage. Here, there is the potential to achieve a negative carbon footprint by turning sludge into clean energy or capturing and reusing methane released during anaerobic decomposition.
For sewage treatment plants, this approach not only reduces emissions and improves green credentials, but can also create a new revenue stream, with the potential to sell the resulting renewable energy to the local grid or to use it on-site to reduce bills.
Overall, analysis from the Pictet-Water Thematic Advisory Board shows that decarbonising the sewage sector – and harnessing it for renewable energy production – could save 2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per year by 2050.
The growing focus of governments and consumers on protecting the environment opens the door for innovation to reduce the carbon footprint, future-proofing business models. Investors should pay attention to businesses which embrace greater efficiency and greener practices as they are expected to thrive over the medium term – and the water and sewage industry is no exception. Indeed, as we increase the provision of water and sewage services around the world, it is becoming ever more important to optimise their environmental footprint.
[Main image: patrick-federi-bjcceKhRsqA-unsplash]
