Sustainable Switch Climate Focus: From EU water-saving funds to melting glaciers
This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch Climate Focus newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change on Fridays.
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Water, nature's liquid lifeline, tops today's newsletter as Europe looks to curb agricultural water waste, while large glaciers are breaking apart in Argentina. Further down is a 'Climate Lens' on the rising tensions between India and Pakistan over control of the Indus River, as we wrap up with Britain's Thames Water deepening debt crisis.
Let's dive into the European Union's water-saving proposal first.
This week, a draft Commission proposal seen by Reuters, showed that the European Commission is considering offering new subsidies to farmers who invest in wasting less water when the bloc's huge farming subsidy program is renewed.
The draft EU policy proposal said the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will address the intense pressure on Europe's water supplies from industry and climate change and would include new "transition packages" of advice and funding for farmers to improve their water management.
The subsidies could help farmers pay for more drought-resistant crops, or precision irrigation tools that waste less water than traditional irrigation systems.
"The Commission will include, under the future CAP, Transition Packages aiming to support and reward farmers engaging in transformational and structural changes to improve the environmental and climate performance of their holdings, including towards a better water management," the draft said.
The Commission's draft water strategy said the European Investment Bank will also increase its spending on water sector investments, including on restoring ecosystems like wetlands that can help buffer against floods.
The EU's farming subsidies are worth around 387 billion euros, about a third of its overall budget for 2021-2027. EU countries are preparing for tough negotiations later this year, on the next budget.
What to Watch
A trial is underway on England's south coast, where scientists are harnessing the ocean's natural power to extract CO2 from seawater, which is absorbed from the atmosphere. Click here or the image above for more.
Climate Commentary
Number of the Week
98.78%
That's the percentage of creditors of Thames Water, Britain's embattled water supplier, who voted in favor of the second consent request for its debt restructuring proposals. Thames Water has been battling against a financial collapse since last year and recently appointed KKR to help it raise new equity.
Sustainable Switch Climate Focus was edited by Tomasz Janowski
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