Talk on future of water given in Oxford examining whether or not water is the new oil, what are the key issues impacting water and how different organisations around the world are responding to the water challenge

1. Is Water the New Oil?
Dr Tim Jones
Blake Lapthorn Oxford
Blake Lapthorn ‐ Oxford
28 April 2010

2. This morning we will look at the water challenge from several
perspectives and highlight some future options we may have
Too Many People?
Running Out?
Water Wars?
Water Wars?
Supply vs. Demand?
Long Term Solutions?
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Making a Difference?
Key Developments?

3. With the Future Agenda programme we are gaining a wide range of
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different views from around the world on key issues such as water

4. Today 6.6bn people share the same water resources that 1.6bn
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did a 100 years ago: By 2020 there will be 7.5bn of us

5. 70% of water use globally is for agriculture which is largely
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increasing in line with both population and economic growth

6. As global diets change to be more Western, increased meat
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consumption drives a massive rise in water consumption

7. Equally more products require significant volumes of water
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as part of their production processes

8. In many parts of the world increasing water use has not yet
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been a problem due to plentiful constant supply

9. But an increasing number of regions cannot cope and are already
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experiencing significant droughts and water scarcity

10. Going forward, many more areas of the world will be experiencing
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regular water stress with economic and physical impact

11. The South East of England is already approaching a tipping point and
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we can’t really cope with more imbalanced population growth

12. In some regions of the world, securing future water supplies
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is already high on the political agenda

13. Some fear that going forward water and not oil will
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become the resource that we fight wars over

14. But water is not the same as oil as it is not running out:
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We have the same volume as we have always had

15. The key issue is managing and balancing water supply
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and demand ‐ everywhere throughout the year

16. We need to achieve this at a time where we increasingly have
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“the wrong water in the wrong places at the wrong time”

17. In the long term, new technologies such as low‐cost
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desalination may well offer us a global solution

18. Today however many believe we need to address the political,
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societal, industrial and behavioural challenges head on

19. Key organisations such as WWF and UN FAO have started to
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communicate more directly with us on the water issue

20. Several major corporations have begun to publicly declare targets
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for reduced water use as part of their global strategies

21. And some multinationals are also seeing the water
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challenge as much as an opportunity as a threat

22. While water is increasingly being seen as an important issue
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in the media and even in popular culture

23. In the next decade we have to change the way we see water,
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the way we value it and hence the way we use it

24. Some are focused on halting the loss of our natural water reservoirs
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and, most significantly from Copenhagen, the rainforests

25. Some are looking at how to use existing capabilities to address
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the problems of imbalanced water supply and distribution

26. Others see that if we can better measure water use, we can control
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demand to better match supply with dynamic pricing models

27. Changing individual behaviours at key times of the year
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can have significant impact in some regions

28. Legislation around water footprinting and product labelling
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is on the horizon at both EU and industry levels

29. Overall, the way forward in becoming increasingly clear to more
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people… but the challenge is taking the right steps now

30. Although not the new oil, many see water being as significant an issue as
carbon going forward – and one that is easier for people to understand

31. More Information
www.waterstrategies.co.uk
www.futureagenda.org
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tim.jones@futureagenda.org