US$9.5 Billion City Water Projects Open for Investment

New research from CDP, the international environmental reporting and data non-profit, today reveals that US$9.5 billion worth of city water projects are now open for investment.

Released for World Water Week (27 August – 1 September) CDP’s new infographic report ‘Who’s tackling urban water challenges’, produced in partnership with AECOM, the global infrastructure firm, and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, shows the first and most comprehensive dataset of global water action by cities and companies produced to date.

Using information gathered from 569 cities and 1,432 companies, each reporting their water management activity, it illustrates how global cities and companies are responding to the escalating challenge of climate change and water security.

  • 63% of North American cities deem climate change a risk to water supply;
  • 196 cities reported risks of water stress and scarcity;
  • 132 a risk of declining water quality and 103 a risk of flooding;

Together with US$14 billion of water impacts reported from companies, such as loss of production last year, 62% of cities are now working with companies to address water and climate change issues with 80 cities seeking US $9.5 billion for 89 water management projects.

Morgan Gillespy, Head of CDP’s Water Program, said:

“Our report shows just how crucial water management is becoming to our cities. We are seeing critical shifts in leadership from cities and companies in response to the very real threat of flooding, for example, to local economies. Combined with innovation and financial capital, this puts the tipping point for a sustainable economy in reach, and this data shows how important investors are in making this happen. These funds are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of where we must go, with live infrastructure projects currently calling out for US$9.5 billion. Furthermore, in conjunction with investment, we must take a holistic approach to water. Our vision is to achieve a secure and sustainable water supply by 2030, but to get here we need a sharp U-turn in how we manage our natural resources. Water must be recognized as a critical asset at city and board level, so it’s down to us all to build it into our thinking.”

Claire Bonham-Carter, Principal and City Resilience Lead, AECOM notes:

“From our work with cities around the world, water has consistently come up as a key resilience challenge. Many of them, regardless of size, from Mexico City, Mexico to Berkeley, California, are addressing both long-term water supply issues as well as chronic urban flooding. In thinking about the immediate flooding and future water scarcity issues through a resilience lens, we are helping cities to address issues of socio-economic disparity and environmental justice, in addition to solving their technical challenges.”

Explore how cities and companies are acting on water, the CDP infographic report ‘Who’s in charge of Water Governance’, with case studies and full data is available at the cities page of CDP.

Click here to see the full infographic.

About CDP

CDP is an international non-profit that drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of US$100 trillion, we leverage investor and buyer power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts. Nearly 6,000 companies with some 60% of global market capitalization disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2016. This is in addition to the over 500 cities and 100 states and regions who disclosed, making CDP’s platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change. CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, is a founding member of the We Mean Business Coalition. Follow CDP on Twitter or learn more at CDP’s website.

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