According to WoodMcKenzie, Global GDP is projected to reach $170 trillion by 2050. A World Bank report on Climate Change and Water suggests that investing in global Water Security mitigates the potential loss of up to 6% or $10.2 trillion of global GDP per year.

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There are two key aspects around financing Water Security for the future. By far the largest amount is what must be financed by governments and municipalities to support freshwater extraction, delivery and sanitation.

 

The OECD estimates investment needed until 2030 to achieve SDG 6 is approximately $1.7 trillion (3 times the current spend). Moreover, this represents only a fraction of the Water investment agenda: projections of global financing needs for Water infrastructure range from USD 6.7 trillion by 2030 to USD 22.6 trillion by 2050 and these figures do not cover the development of freshwater resources for irrigation or energy (they are wrapped into the clean energy investment estimates).

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Acting on and investing in UN SDG 6 now mitigates catastrophic human, environmental and economic losses on a scale the world has not seen before.

 

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