Commissioner Roswalls keynote address at the 1st Annual Water Summit hosted by the The Economist

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to join todays Summit.

Let me start by thanking the Economist for helping to keep the spotlight on such a crucial issue. 

Everyday, in my role as EU Commissioner for the Environment, I am reminded of the foundational importance of water.

But I am also confronted with the massive dangers facing our societies, economies, and natural world. 

Just last week, I was in Cyprus, where the most pressing issue is water scarcity. 2025 was the driest year in Cyprus since 1901!

Recently, I met with Chinese officials to discuss the droughts, flooding and water pollution threatening the EU and China. 

Extreme heatwaves, severe droughts, and destructive floods cost the EU a staggering 43 billion euros last summer — expected to soar to 129 billion euros by 2029.

And over the past year I have travelled around the world, from Cairo to Japan to New York, building partnerships for water security.

So, water resilience is a personal and a political priority for me.

These discussions have highlighted two key points.

First, water security is an issue that connects us all, at every level – globally and locally, economically, politically, and culturally.

And second, philosophers and thinkers all over the world and throughout history, from Thales to Francis Bacon, were right when they said that water was the centre of all things.

Agriculture, innovation and industry, manufacturing, healthcare, security and defence – none of these function without water.

We see it very clearly in the farming sector.

Today, nearly 40% of the worlds croplands face water scarcity.

And some of the most productive and critical agricultural regions, including the Mediterranean, are already facing crop losses.

In fact, a 40-year study on cocoa farming in the Ivory Coast and Ghana found that increased water stress led to cocoa yield reductions of up to 37%.

What about electricity?

Well, 65% of the EUs electricity production still relies on water for cooling.

Or semiconductors – which drive everything from fridges to phones to fighter jets.

An average chip manufacturing facility can use 10 million gallons of ultrapure water per day.

How about the most basic of human rights – our health?

Already, more than 1,000 children under five die every day from illnesses caused by unsafe water and sanitation.

A recent UK government report highlighted these dangers – and warned that the collapse of global ecosystems was a direct threat to the water cycle, food systems, national security and prosperity.

Imagine an insecure future where our cities are parched and our fields run dry, our homes are dark, our factories shut up shop and our industry stalls.

The point here is not to fill you with doom.

It is to demonstrate just how critically, fundamentally, definitively, we are reliant on water.

And, to highlight how, as a recent UN report outlined, we are approaching ‘water bankruptcy. 

So, the bad news is stark. But the good news is simple – we have the answers at our fingertips.

We start by rethinking the economics of water – and by recognising its true value.  

And we continue with science and innovation, with public and private investment, and with cooperation.

The EU is determined to play its part.  

Our new Water Resilience Strategy is a roadmap to a more sustainable water future.

It aims to:

• Restore and protect the water cycle, from source to sea.
• Build a water-smart economy by promoting efficiency, innovation, and investment.
• And ensure clean and affordable water for all.

And it is backed by the European Investment Bank, which will invest 15 billion euros between 2025 and 2027 to tackle Europes water crisis. 

Our Strategy also includes a strong international dimension, because the global challenges are immense:

Worldwide, water-related disasters displaced 40 million people and inflicted more than 480 billion euro in damages in 2024.  

So we will work with partners to develop shared solutions, to close the financing gap in the water sector, and to scale up investment in nature-based solutions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our Strategy is just a starting point for a long-term and collective effort that requires action at all levels.

And at its very core lies the idea that investing in water security is not a cost or a burden - it is an insurance policy for our future prosperity.

It is an investment in resilience.

And it is the surest path to competitive industries, to robust food systems, and to thriving, peaceful, healthy societies.

So, the EU will continue to prioritise water resilience, to build partnerships, and to invest in a sustainable future – with the UK and others.

For people everywhere and for the generations to come.

For our economies and our security.

And for the health of our planet.