With the 28th UN Climate Change Conference currently underway in Dubai, there’s a renewed focus on South Africa’s carbon dioxide emissions. The reality is that we will almost certainly be missing our 2030 carbon emissions targets under the Paris Climate Agreement.

Although there are few who remain ignorant regarding the environmental damage caused by using fossil fuels, there are other ramifications that do not receive as much spotlight. For example, we tend to forget that generating electricity from fossil fuels is a water-intensive process and that Eskom could also save a significant amount of water by shifting to green energy sources, over and above the other advantages that are more commonly discussed.

The increased impact of global warming on southern Africa and the ongoing effects of the El Niño phenomenon serve as a stark reminder of what the Department of Water and Sanitation predicted in the 2018 National Water and Sanitation Master Plan: there will be a water supply shortage of 17% by 2030, if the necessary investments in infrastructure, so as to increase capacity, are not made.

It’s important to understand that “water shortage” doesn’t mean that South Africa will run out of water by 2030, even though it’s an arid country severely impacted by global warming. However, we will certainly be feeling the effects of a water deficit. According to water experts, the scarcity issue relates mainly to our growing population, water mismanagement, over-consumption, and our ever-deteriorating water infrastructure. From an economic point of view, it is obviously more cost-effective to use the water that is in close proximity, instead of using faraway water sources that cost a lot of money to reach us. Therefore, we need to ensure that we have the necessary infrastructure to do so.