Climate-resilient water management: Making the most of the EU Water Resilience Strategy
The water level of the Rhine river is at an alarming low; vast agricultural areas in Central Europe are in danger of drying out; France has had to shut down nuclear power plants due to a lack of cooling water – for weeks, Europe has been suffering from an exceptional drought. An extreme weather situation that is likely to occur more and more frequently as climate change progresses. At the beginning of June, the EU Commission presented a water-resilience strategy to counteract an already tense situation and the growing risk of water emergencies. In a recently published policy paper, the WBGU proposes further fundamental additions to this strategy: in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, ‘climate-resilient water management’ should serve as a guiding principle for the entire EU water policy, the member states’ water authorities and local water associations. A key aspect here is to include in the strategies water that is stored in the soil (‘green water’); farmers would then also act as green-water caretakers. European water policy should moreover create more synergies between policy areas – such as the agricultural sector or industry – than has hitherto been proposed, and create links to other directives and regulations. Furthermore, the WBGU recommends a common EU foreign policy on water and a more intensive commitment to new forms of governance at the international level.
Four important principles for action
The core of the EU Water-Resilience Strategy 2025 is a new principle called ‘Water Efficiency First’: water consumption is to be reduced and its use made more efficient, e.g. by means of water recycling. “The approach is necessary and timely,” says Jörg Drewes, Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering and head of the corresponding research centre at the Technical University of Munich, co-chair of the WBGU. “But it is still far from sufficient, and the corresponding strategies urgently need to be fleshed out further.” In the WBGU’s view, the selection and design of measures for climate-resilient water management should not only be as effective and flexible as possible; the measures should also be designed in such a way that they can be easily implemented locally. At the same time, the concepts must be multifunctional, i.e. they must aim to achieve ecological, health, social and economic multiple benefits in equal measures. When projects are being planned, attention should also be paid to the broadest possible participation of all those affected.
Cross-sector approach has advantages
To achieve a comprehensive protection of water – whether in rivers, lakes and groundwater or stored in the soil – it is necessary to embed climate-resilient water management both in biodiversity concepts and in the EU’s agricultural and industrial policy. In addition to better results in implementation, such broad-based integration also promises synergies in other areas, for instance in the restoration of ecosystems or in funding measures. For example, the availability of water is essential for the European Clean Industrial Deal and for the EU’s new Vision on Agriculture and Food. Climate-resilient water management should be integrated into these plans and taken into account in the financing mechanisms, which are yet to be developed. It is important to sensitize actors in industry and agriculture to the need for climate-resilient water management.
A common EU foreign policy on water is required
“The EU should integrate climate-resilient water management and green water as a protected good into existing water law,” says Sabine Schlacke, Professor of Public Law at the University of Greifswald, and WBGU member. The WBGU also sees an urgent need for action in the implementation of existing EU water-related legislation and strategies. However, this commitment must not be limited to Europe. “Water is an asset of common concern to humankind and requires cooperation among the international community,” Schlacke emphasizes. “It would therefore make sense for the EU countries to develop a common foreign policy on water in which positive examples and recommendations for governance are formulated for the international level.” In this way, Europe could influence the forthcoming UN water conferences in 2026 and 2028 and provide a decisive boost for global climate resilience in the water sector.
