Corporate Water Footprint Inventory Summary
The carbon cycle and water cycle are key to the earth's climate system. Changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have a great impact on changes in the earth's temperature. Water absorbs heat during the cycle and has the effect of cooling and lowering the temperature. For every 1°C increase in global average temperature, water resources will decrease by 20%. Climate change has caused an imbalance in the earth's water cycle. Frequent water shortages have become a new challenge that developed countries are struggling with. For example, in 2022, California in the United States suffered the worst drought in 1,200 years, and Europe experienced the most severe drought in 500 years, with rivers drying up. Impacting shipping, power generation, grain production and supply chains. Since 2000, the frequency and duration of droughts around the world have increased by 29%. Scientists predict that the global water shortage will be as high as 40% in 2030, and 700 million people may be forced to relocate due to severe water shortage. Droughts in 2050 will affect more than 3/4 of the world's population. , water shortages trigger water wars, which may lead to political unrest, food shortages, and economic recession. According to United Nations data, 2 billion people lack safe drinking water, 2.3 billion people live in water-scarce countries, and 1/5 of river basins are undergoing rapid changes due to flooding, new reservoirs, and drying up. Water is not only a victim of the climate crisis but also a contributor to it. Drought-induced fires have caused massive losses in biodiversity. If the loss of wetlands represents depleting the largest carbon storage on the planet, and the decline in soil moisture reduces the ability of terrestrial and forest ecosystems to sequester carbon, it is likely to increase in the next few years. turn these natural ecosystems into sources of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming