Setting a good example in our water-stressed world
Courage, foresight key to fighting dire impact of climate change
PROVIDING access to clean, safe and affordable water for citizens is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any city. Climate change is making that task more difficult in every part of the world. Changing weather patterns are creating great disparities in water availability, with prolonged droughts in some areas and unprecedented rainfall or coastal erosion in others.
In the summer, Cape Town came within weeks of becoming the world’s first major modern city to run out of water. Only severe water-saving measures have so far averted Day Zero. A shutdown of this magnitude might seem inconceivable, but it must be a wake-up call to all of us.
New research from C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors estimates that by 2050, over 650 million urban residents – equivalent to twice the population of the US – will be vulnerable to drought. The same report, “The Future We Don’t Want – How Climate Change Could Impact the World’s Greatest Cities”, forecasts that extremely high summer temperatures will become the norm for more than 1.6 billion people, pushing to the limit the water supplies that we all rely on.
With two-thirds of the global population projected to live in cities by 2050, global demand for water is expected to increase by 55% within the next 30 years. One in four of the world’s largest cities are already water-stressed. How many cities around the world will need to face the prospect of their own Day Zero before the imminent risks of climate change are properly recognised?
Water scarcity is the canary in the proverbial climate coal mine – the sight of taps running dry in cities around the world is likely to be the most immediate and visible evidence that climate change will severely impact human civilisation as we know it.
As mayor of Cape Town, I am committed to facing the challenges of climate change with courage and determination. By repairing water infrastructure, driving innovation in the way we value and use water, and mobilising communities to ensure our collective water security, we can create resilient, sustainable and liveable cities around the world.
Climate change is a threat to people’s health, their prosperity and their long-term safety and security. While its impacts are indiscriminate, unequal access to resources – especially water – will hit the urban poor hardest, undermining our efforts to create fairer, more equal communities.
The research also reveals that 215 million of the poorest urban citizens, living in slums of the world’s fast-growing cities, will be particularly vulnerable to extreme heat by 2050. That is why, as a leading member of C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors, I am committed to bold climate action that benefits all citizens. Mayors from cities around the world are collaborating, sharing knowledge and developing proactive and practical action plans that ensure we deliver on the highest ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Cities across South Africa and around the world must learn from the experience of Cape Town’s struggles and successes, taking inspiration from how the City and its residents have adapted.
Together, we must learn to do more with less, and support citizens to make the most of the resources we have available. At the same time, cities need to invest in better water management. Water losses in some cities with ageing infrastructure can be as high as 70%, which means that the energy used to treat and pump that water is also needlessly wasted.
The effects of climate change will be felt in every city on Earth. The evidence is increasingly clear that we must be prepared for rapidly changing temperatures, rising sea levels and unprecedented changes in water, food and energy supplies. As mayor, I have no greater responsibility than to protect the health, prosperity and welfare of citizens today and for generations to come. There is nothing inevitable about Day Zero. We urge businesses, investors, governments and citizens to join us in building the resilient cities of the future.
CAPE TOWN CAME WITHIN WEEKS OF RUNNING OUT OF WATER. ONLY SEVERE MEASURES HAVE SO FAR AVERTED DAY ZERO