A new global study, published recently in the journal Nature Sustainability, shows an alarming trend. Since 1995, the water footprint associated with global material production has increased by 450 percent. Studies estimate that the global water footprint has increased almost fourfold. It more than doubled from 25.1 billion cubic meters in 1995 to 50.7 billion cubic meters in 2021. This surge raises significant concerns about water management and sustainability, particularly as industrial water use grows rapidly, especially in emerging economies facing water stress.
The research assessed the “blue water footprint” (WFblue) of 16 strategic metallic and non-metallic materials. It included disease burden data from 164 countries and regions from 1995-2021. The increase in share of material production to total global freshwater use exploded over this time. It nonetheless did so—from 2.8% to 4.7%. These results highlight a significant opportunity and need for better water management practices, especially in resource-intensive industries that depend on such freshwater resources.
Key Contributors to Water Footprint
Steel continues to be the biggest producer in material production. In 2021, it represented almost 40% of the WFblue worldwide. Not only that, paper and plastics played a large role, accounting for 18% and 9% of the WFblue, respectively. These figures demonstrate the extent to which specific industries contribute to a much higher consumption of freshwater resources. This trend may pose severe long-term impacts to environmental sustainability and resource availability.
This concentration of water use within these three sectors raises serious concerns and regulatory needs to be examined more closely. As global demand for these materials increases, stakeholders at all steps of the value chain will need to be aware of the environmental impacts of their production practices.
Regional Variations in Water Footprint Growth
Our resulting scientific study adds to a quickly growing literature focusing on regional disparities in water footprint growth. In East and South Asia and Oceania, water footprints skyrocketed by a shocking 267% from 1995 to 2021. This dramatic increase is extremely troubling for countries that are already facing a crisis of water scarcity. Industrial activities in these regions contribute greatly to freshwater depletion, intensifying pre-existing water conflicts and crisis.
In these scenarios, experts claim that putting targeted interventions in these hotspots could help take the pressure off our nation’s water resources. Countries such as India, Kazakhstan, and Turkey could benefit from improved efficiencies in material production processes to help reduce conflicts over water usage.
Future Projections and Implications
Looking forward, the study’s news is not so encouraging as it sounds an alarm. …for water-intensive materials, such as plastics, cement, steel, aluminum, and copper, their water footprints could increase by up to 179% by 2050 compared to 2021 levels. Recent trends imply that the share of production of materials in global freshwater use may rapidly reach a critical threshold. By mid-century, it could be close to 9%.
Dr. Asaf Tzachor, a co-author of the study, explains why these findings are important. They carry profound implications for power sector stakeholders and decision makers. Photograph by Steven Depolo/Flickr Creative Commons He champions out-of-the-box approaches to conserving and using our water efficiently. Professor Heming Wang further stresses that managing water efficiently is not only an environmental necessity but an industrial imperative that stakeholders cannot ignore.