The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that
energy (primary energy and power
production) in 2014 was responsible for approximately 10% of
total water withdrawals, of
which about 3% was consumed. The IEA also estimates that a similar amount
(about 10% of global water withdrawals) was used by the other industries.
Projected global water demand between 2000 and 2050 shows a 400% increase for
manufacturing and a 140% increase for thermal power generation. Another
study foresees almost a doubling of
industrial water withdrawals to 2030,
reaching a percentage of 22% globally.
In the last four years, even though the number of companies reporting
water reductiontargets to the CDP (formerly the
Carbon Disclosure Project) has close to doubled, there is a nearly 50% increase in companies reporting higher water withdrawals with expanding
production, particularly in Asia and Latin America. Water-related financial company losses of US$38.5 billion were noted in 2018. These numbers may be larger, as at least 50 companies could not provide figures. In 2019, the combined risk to business value was US$425 billion (CDP, 2020). Globally, for industrial products the
average virtual water content is 80L/US$ (Hoekstra and Chapagain, 2007), with a wide range between countries. For example, in the USA it is 100L/US$, whereas in China and India it is between 20 and 25L/US$
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