Policy Briefing: Turning the tide

Changing climate is making the already water-stressed planet drier in some places and wetter in others – with floods, droughts, and extreme weather events more frequent, prevalent, and prolonged. And with COVID-19 gripping the planet, access to clean water, the first line of defence to prevent the spread of the disease, is paramount.

This briefing, which draws from CDP’s 2019 Global Water Report, shines a light on corporate water pollution and the role that policymakers can play in driving business strategies that eliminate it. The discharge of industrial pollutants such as petrochemicals, agri-chemicals, and mining waste not only poses threats to human health and biodiversity, but also exacerbates the issues of water scarcity and inadequate access. To address water pollution, the report discusses some key policy recommendations, including:

• Enhancing or putting in place environmental safeguards, with robust enforcement mechanisms, which send a clear signal to corporates to invest in pollution elimination across all aspects of their value chains.
• Enhancing or putting in place policies conducive to more and better corporate environmental disclosure, and in particular on water pollution impacts and action.
• Adopting supervision measures for the financial markets that ensure financial institutions disclose and drive adequate mitigation of water pollution impacts in their portfolios, loan books, and funds.