At the end of 2009, the 2030 Water Resources Group (McKinsey & Company, financial institutions, agricultural and industrial enterprises, experts, etc.) issued a report on the economic and social risks induced by possible water shortages on the 2030 timescale, and a number of recommendations to prevent them.

On October 23, 2009, the World Bank published a new study on the water treatment and distribution activities of major private operators (such as SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, Veolia, Saur and Agbar) in emerging countries. The study concludes that “well-managed public utilities can be found within the developing world”, but that “the private sector has much to offer”.

Given the urgency of climate change, the mobilisation of all players is essential. Within the Copenhagen Conference on climate, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT has presented its contribution to international action to confront climate change through a “White Paper”.

The French National Observatory on the Effects of Climate Warming (ONERC) has just submitted its third report to Jean-Louis Borloo, the French Minister for Ecology. The report presents the Observatory’s results for ten key sectors: natural risks, water resources, biodiversity, health, road infrastructures, agriculture, forestry, energy, tourism and regional development. It indicates that the annual costs related to climate change could reach several billion euros if adaptive measures are not quickly taken.

According to the preliminary conclusions of a global World Bank study entitled “Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change” (EACC), adapting to climate change will cost developing countries between USD 75 to 100 billion per year between 2010 and 2050 if global temperatures rise 2°C by the latter date.

At the end of June, the evaluation commission of the World Water Council in Madrid announced its decision to select the city of Marseilles and France to host the 6th World Water Forum in 2012. In so doing, France and Marseilles will take over from Morocco (1997), the Netherlands (2000), Japan (2003), Mexico (2006) and Turkey (2009), where the previous forums were held.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) published a report on 6 July in Geneva assessing the progress achieved with regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). More than halfway to the 2015 deadline, the important progress made in the fight against poverty and hunger is starting to slow down and in some cases regress due to the global economic and food crises. Nevertheless, access to drinking water, which is Target 3 (Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water) of MDG no. 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability), is on track to be achieved by most of the affected countries.

As part of the South-West European Territorial Cooperation Programme (SUDOE), the Hérault Departmental Council formed a network comprising the Gironde department, five Spanish and Portuguese local authorities and fourteen other partners (public institutions and water management authorities) in order to study possible synergies between regional planning policy and water policy. This affiliation led to the creation of the Water and Territories project (WAT), which seeks to pool knowledge regarding the sustainable management of water resources.

At the EU summit held 18 June, the heads of State and government of the European Union laid the foundation for a financial contribution to be made by the Union to assist developing countries, within the framework of a global agreement on climate change at the upcoming Copenhagen Summit. The contribution will help developing nations combat climate change, in particular through funding for water conservation programmes.

The annual report on agricultural outlooks, published on 17 June by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), gives a nuanced assessment of the situation in the world food supply. For one reason, the agricultural sector has shown more resilience to the global economic downturn than other sectors. However, the risks weighing on global food security, particularly in terms of water stress, may increase over the next ten years.