UNESCO analyzes how energy and technology interfere in water crises

The crises of water threaten peace in the world more than ever, according to the UNESCOwhich in a report published this Friday how energy and technology They interfere and weigh more and more on the exploitation of water resources.

The coordinator of the report, Richard Connor, explains that water “can contribute to prosperity.” that where is available “there is less probability of conflict”, while when there is no access the consequences are “Forced migration, food insecurity and impact on health”.

That is why Connor considers it key to analyze the economic importance of water in a world in which “water stress” is increasingly notable due to climate change and in which “2.2 billion people do not have access to drinking water”.

“There is no clear relationship between water and the level of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita”but “Only the richest countries can afford hydraulic infrastructure”points out the expert.

Seven economic sectors are responsible for 70% of fresh water pollution in the world: food, textile, energy, industry, chemistry, pharmacy and mining.

Regarding energy, the authors of the report highlight that wind and solar energy have grown the most in the last decade, but in reality they continue to represent a “minimal part” compared to fossil fuels, which is why we seek to accelerate the rates of development of renewable energies.

In parallel, they note that the deployment of renewables consumes a large amount of water resources.

Lithium is one of the components that plays an essential role in the production of renewable energy equipment, whether to power vehicles or to store electricity from intermittent sources such as wind and solar, but it is a “large consumer and polluter of water”, says the expert.

In fact, to produce one ton of lithium, 2.2 million liters of water are needed.

Something similar occurs with technological development and artificial intelligence that contribute to these processes, for example, with cybersecurity systems that protect infrastructures.

The protection of these systems is in the hands of governments and large technology companies, which in their environmental studies recognize that their water consumption has increased by up to 30% due to the needs for cooling electronic equipment, such as power bases. data.

By way of illustration, UNESCO points out that the third version of ChatGPT uses 700,000 liters of water per day.

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