According to the Huffington Post, a group of scientific experts met in Stockholm recently to discuss the water crisis the world is facing as a result of climate change.

The lack of precipitation has had catastrophic effects in some regions. For example, Brazil and South Africa have a shortage on water, food and electricity, and Puerto Rico has limited its citizens to twice a week rations of water. The infamous drought in California is said to be the worst in 1,400 years.

The experts at the conference discussed the effects of climate change on water supply. They explained that in addition to hydrating human bodies, water is also essential in producing energy for countries. For example, The European Union uses 44% of their total water for energy generation. But with the increasing rate of global warming, and a rapidly expanding population, the current water supply would not be enough.

Increased global temperatures lead to an increased rate of water evaporation, which in turn leads to a lack of moisture on the ground, plants and animals. Current estimates predict that global population increases at 1.14% per year. According to this model, the world would need about 80% more energy and 55% more water than today by 2050.

Adnan Amin, director of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), suggested that renewable energy through the use waterless technologies could help avoid the impending crisis.

“During power generation, solar power withdraws 200 times less water than a coal power plant to produce the same amount of electricity. Wind power requires no water, “ he said.

The IRENA study revealed that renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, could reduce the power sector’s use of water as much as 37 percent in the United States, 32 percent in Australia and 52 percent in the United Kingdom.
The American Wind Energy Association agreed with these findings. The organization found that wind energy saved the US 68 billion gallons of water in 2014, three and half billion of which were saved in Texas, during its drought.
“In our globalized world, everything is interconnected. Water, energy and climate can no longer be thought of as separate issues,” Amin said.