The Down & Dirty

This month we give you the down and dirty on water, energy and possible linkages to cancer. An estimated US$7.3 trillion is at risk in primary production sectors including mining and utilities according to the new TEEB report. Author of this report, Trucost tells us why US$1.9 trillion of this is down to water. So do we invest to mitigate this now or wait? In the case of the cancer villages, is official recognition the tipping point? We look at the spread of cancer villages around China and industries that may be responsible. As promised, we also review water for coal and why thirsty miners will in share the pain per CLSA’s recent report, whilst Nathanial Bullard of Bloomberg New Energy Finance tells us why Chinese utilities are in hot water as they have to spend US$20 billion if they want to be water efficient. With so much focus on mining, we also review the status of water disclosure for the sector globally to find out why despite leading the way in water disclosure, the sector still has far to go. Perhaps we should all play Aqua Republica: Chengzi Chew of the Danish Hydrology Institute explains how the game can help us gain better perspective on the importance of water allocation and its impact on business, people, food & energy. After all, water is a shared resource and other people also have a say!