Water Industry Hosting Discussions Ahead Of COP26

In November 2021, the UK will be hosting the Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) event in Glasgow, and many in the water industry believe that this is a great opportunity for their voices to be heard.

WWT Online reported that, as a result, many organisations within the industry are coming together at a series of events ahead of the COP26 summit to talk about the particular challenges facing the water sector, as well as to highlight solutions that are working.

The first of these events, which are being supported by British Water, took place on 13th May and saw a range of representatives from across the industry contribute to the discussion around the latest developments in resilience and adaptation in the water sector.

Among the topics discussed at the May event were water reuse, desalination and aquifer recharge, the news provider noted.

Trevor Phillips, of Water Resources South East, shared insights into how the principles of resilience and adaptation can be seen in action in not only the South East of England, but also in West Africa.

Lucien Damiba, from WaterAid, and Aqueum’s Martin Currie, who chaired the event, also contributed to the discussion. You can watch a recording of the event on the British Water website that is dedicated to these discussions.

On 10 June the next event in the series will take place, which will see nature-based solutions being discussed by representatives from Severn Trent, Water UK and the International Water Association (IWA).

There is a further discussion planned every month in the lead up to COP26, with the remaining topics to be the energy transition in July, clean transport in August, finance in September and then the Water Climate Discussion Conference will take place in October.

As British Water told WWT Online, it’s essential for the sector to have an input on any plans to mitigate the effects of climate change given how crucial water is to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“The platform provided by the COP26 Water Climate Discussion Series is a unique opportunity for companies to share insights, highlight innovations and be part of an expert collective striving to make a difference in water,” the publication noted.

Businesses certainly have a role to play in reducing their water usage where possible, which will have a positive impact on their bottom line as well as on the environment.

Finding the right business water supplier is an important first step for any organisation to ensure that they are not paying over the odds and that the supplier they use is doing their part to help the environment.

As well as exploring where your water comes from, you can also look at each organisation’s emissions if this is an area you’re particularly interested in and keen to get right.

As WWT Online pointed out, UK Water, the country’s industry trade body, was one of the first such organisations to join the UN’s Race To Zero campaign ahead of the COP26 conference. The UK’s water industry has a plan for the whole sector to achieve net zero emissions by the end of this decade