World Water Week inaugurated in Stockholm

Global leaders have gathered in Stockholm today for the 24th annual World Water Week.

They urged the energy and water communities to work together to face the major challenges faced by industry and to provide clean drinking water and energy for a growing world population.

The theme for 2014 World Water Week was “Energy and Water”.

Water and energy are interdependent in many ways and energy is needed for pumping, storing, transporting and treating water as well as for producing almost all sorts of energy.

A variation in one factor affects the other quickly. These two resources are inseparable from sustainable growth and needs to be promoted in global decision-making.

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Torgny Holmgren, executive director, World Water Week organizer, Stockholm International Water Institute addressed the opening session of the ceremony.

“The challenges are immense. With the global demand for water projected to grow by 55 per cent between 2000 and 2050 and electricity demand expected to increase by 50 per cent in the next two decades, there is an urgent need for a closer relationship between the energy and water communities if we are to provide solutions for all peoples to prosper,” announced Holmgren.

John Briscoe, Stockholm Water Prize laureate of this year, stated water as a growth platform for society as well as other sectors, narrating that developing countries face big challenges.

These resources need to be mobilized. No permanent solution is available for water crisis anywhere. Instead, there is a cycle of challenges and responses, added Briscoe.

Around 100 seminars, workshops are planned throughout the week and delegates will discuss ongoing and future work and collaboration between the energy and water communities.

John Briscoe, will receive the Stockholm Water Prize from H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, during a ceremony held in Stockholm City Hall on 4 September.

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