This recently published report reveals findings from a study led by hydrology expert Professor Simon Mathias and commissioned by a water retailer.
The study warns that as nations actively deploy "net-zero technologies," they are overlooking a fatal limiting factor: water resources.
The research team assessed decarbonization plans for five major UK industrial clusters (including Humberside and Teesside) and found that many technologies viewed as core to net-zero—specifically Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and green hydrogen production—are extremely water-intensive processes. The study estimates that to achieve the 2050 net-zero targets, these technologies will consume an additional 860 million liters of water per day.
However, a simultaneous warning from the Environment Agency indicates that due to climate change, the UK faces a very high risk of widespread drought next year (2026). Research models show that under the "double whammy" of industrial decarbonization demand and climate drought, some industrial hubs (such as North West England) could fall into a serious water deficit as early as 2030.
This study sounds an alarm for businesses and policymakers: when planning net-zero pathways, one cannot just account for the "carbon budget," but must also account for the "water budget." Without new water management infrastructure (such as new reservoirs or pipelines), water-intensive decarbonization projects may be forced to halt due to water unavailability, becoming the invisible killer of achieving the 2050 goals.
圖片來源: Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA
資料來源: Water shortages could derail UK’s net zero plans, study finds | Water | The Guardian
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