00:00 As global temperatures continue to rise, droughts and water scarcity are no longer a rarity
00:05 in Europe. 30% of the European population is already affected, with the UN focusing
00:11 its World Food Day on water. In the coming decades, the situation is set to get worse
00:17 and the agricultural industry hits hard.
00:20 Some of the food products cannot be produced anymore in southern parts of Europe because
00:27 it's getting too hot.
00:28 People think that UK is a rainy country, but actually we've been experiencing drought as
00:33 well and places like this provide important agriculture for us.
00:37 The world's growing population predicted to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and a rising middle
00:43 class are fueling the strain.
00:46 People in general, they are getting richer and when people are getting richer, they are
00:51 using more resources, not only water resources but also land and they eat more, they have
01:01 more variety in their diet.
01:03 And other industries such as the energy sector are also set to be impacted.
01:09 As we move into a net zero era, a clean energy era, we are moving towards things like hydropower
01:16 for sure, but if we have less water in our rivers, it means that we won't be able to
01:22 rely on hydropower and actually we're turning to coal and gas, things that we consider dirty
01:28 still has to be in place if we are going to meet our energy demands.
01:33 In 2000, Europe introduced the Water Framework Directive to protect water resources across
01:40 Europe. However, there is still a long way to go.
01:44 The measures that we are implementing needs to be a little bit accelerated at different
01:49 scales, at the local level, at the country level, at the EU level, so that the level
01:55 of preparedness towards these uncertainties will also be improved.
01:59 (whooshing)
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