The New Council Conclusion on the 8th EAP: A new step towards a Water-Smart Strategy [Promoted content]

On Monday, the 17^th of June, the Council adopted its conclusions on the mid-term review of the 8th environment action programme, paving the way forward to a green, just and inclusive transition for a sustainable Europe. The water community welcomes these conclusions as they stress out ‘the important regulating role of water cycles for ecosystems, human life and the functioning of the economy and our society’.

Following the conclusions of 2021 and 2023, the Council goes a step further calling for action about water in the European Union, recognising the need for aligning and potential revision of relevant EU policies to better integrate water considerations to ensure a comprehensive approach.

It echoes the joint letter from 30 organizations urging the release of the Water Resilience Initiative and the EU Blue Deal by the European Economic and Social Committee, highlighting the associated risks and opportunities for various economic stakeholders.

Water Innovation Europe 2024 – A call of the water community to recognise the socio-economic Value of Water

This development is aligned with the first outcomes of the Water Innovation Europe 2024 dedicated to a Water-Smart Strategy, this year. Held in the context of the EU Green Week, and shortly after the European Elections, this conference emphasizes the vital role of water in enhancing European economic competitiveness and the urgent need for investments to mitigate water-related economic risks.

Calling for investments along the full value chain of water, this recommendation goes beyond the conclusion of the Letta Report. The interim results of the socio-economic study that Water Europe will publish this autumn demonstrate that investments in water leads to a range of societal and economic benefits:

• Mitigation of climatological events and avoiding costs: In the EU, in 2022, meteorological events (i.e. storms) were responsible for around €8 billion of economic damages, and hydrological events (i.e. floods and mass movements) for around €3 billion.
• Droughts are estimated to contribute to economic damages in the order of €2-9 billion annually.
• Ecosystem services: If 70% of EU waterbodies reach “good” status, this can lead to benefits worth €11 billion per year.
• Boosting economic competitiveness and creating green jobs

With the new legislations, a total of 255 billion EUR will be required by 2030 in the EU to comply with the Drinking water Directive and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and to enhance the efficiency of the water supply systems.

European Strategic investment will require more water while one third of Europe is exposed to water stress

In Europe, one third of the land area of the EU is exposed to water stress. If we look at the strategic economic sectors such a chips production, improving the water productivity of wafers is a must have. It can result in a 20% reduction in freshwater usage compared to the current efficiency level (21 litres per cm2 of wafer). In addition, future growth in production would require investment in water recycling technologies as currently recycling rates vary from 45% to 86%

If we look at the Hydrogen, the EU’s production capacity will need to grow at a rate of 176% per annum to achieve its 2030 target (10 million tonnes per year). Only 0.2% of hydrogen produced in the EU is Green hydrogen (by renewable energy) and EU already invested €70 billion in hydrogen projects up to 2023. Water is the primary resource and input used to produce green hydrogen and used as coolant impacting on waste discharged. How can we achieve our target without water? The future EU targets for scaling up green hydrogen production would significantly increase both water withdrawal and wastewater discharge. Water productivity differs based on the water sources, ranging from 10 litres (Deionized Water) to 28 litres (seawater) per one kg of green hydrogen produced.

Investment in water will bolster the EU’s competitiveness, the single market, and Research & Innovation. Hence, the consensus on the importance of water for different economic sectors highlights the risk to not integrate water considerations into the foreseen Draghi Report on competitiveness.

5 awards stressing solutions exist for the economy, society and environment

With the Water Innovation Europe 2024 focusing on the implementation of circular water solutions, unveiling the second edition of the Living Labs Atlas of Water Europe, the event emphasized the urgency of unlocking water reuse to build a water-smart economy.

The Awards 2024 ceremony of Water Innovation Europe 2024 recognised five winners for their innovation solutions for building a Water-Smart economy, society and environment:

• SME Award: Hydro Volta
• Water Governance Award: Vatteninfo Sverige AB
• Water Technology & Infrastructure Award: Palermo University
• Digital Water Award: KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence
• Global Water Challenges Award: Wasser 3.0 gGmbH

Pernille Weiss received the Water-Smart MEP Awards for her contribution to a Water-Smart Strategy

Chairman of the MEP Water Group, Pernille Weiss actively contributed to raising awareness about water within the European Institutions. She has been a strong supporter of a Water Blue Deal, having signed a joint letter with Pietro De Lotto, Chairman of the Industrial Chance section of the European Economic and Social Committee, and André Viola, rapporteur on the water resilience opinion of the Committee of Regions. As a champion for water during the last five years, this recognition from the water sector is an encouragement to continue promoting water and innovative solutions in Europe.

If anything else, the Water Innovation Europe 2024 conference and its Awards highlighted the remarkable innovation capability present in Europe, essential for building a Water-Smart Society, and for transforming knowledge into actionable solutions, which could contribute to a Water-Smart Industrial deal.