Water crisis putting 50% of world's food production at risk, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

Half of the world’s food production is at risk of failure by 2050 due to the accelerating global water crisis, according to a new report.

Nearly 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are in areas where total water storage is predicted to decline, says the report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW), an organization convened by the government of the Netherlands and facilitated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Alongside, the water crisis could also hit global gross domestic product (GDP), with an average 8% drop for high-income nations by 2050 and as much as 15% for lower-income countries.

The crisis will affect the most vulnerable “first and hardest”, the commission reports, with densely populated areas, including northwestern India, northeastern China and south and eastern Europe, at particular risk. But the problem is global and interconnected, it says.

“The impact of water scarcity on both people and nature now jeopardizes virtually every one of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Left unchecked, it will result in growing gaps in nutrition in populations already at risk, the greater spread of diseases, widening inequalities within and across nations, and increased conflicts and forced migration.”

According to the report, current approaches to water management often focus on water resources rather than the economic drivers that shape the water cycle. They also mainly deal with “blue water” – the water we can see in our lakes and rivers. “Green water”, a “critical resource” stored in soil moisture and in vegetation, is being overlooked, the GCEW says.

It recommends “bolder and more integrated thinking” to address these challenges, and a move to governing the water cycle as “a global common good”.

The 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference 2024 has begun in Colombia – and experts are describing it as a critical moment for the world’s declining wildlife populations.

World leaders, environmental activists and researchers from more than 190 countries are meeting in the city of Cali to discuss protecting plant and animal life – at a time when experts are warning our natural world is reaching “dangerous” tipping points.

Top of the agenda for delegates will be ensuring 23 targets and four goals around nature preservation – agreed at the previous COP climate conference in 2022 – are put into action. To date, countries have never met a target they have set themselves in this area.

“Destroying nature inflames conflict, hunger & disease, fuels poverty, inequality & the climate crisis,” Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres said on X as the conference got underway. “The task of #COP16Colombia is to convert words into action.”

This Forum article explains more about that agreement and what’s at stake at COP16.

North Atlantic’s largest marine protected area was just created by Portugal's Azores, a chain of islands in the Atlantic ocean. The legislation establishes nearly 300,000 square kilometers of marine protected areas. Additionally, as National Geographic points out, fifteen percent of its waters are now currently designated "fully protected" with another 15% bow "highly protected", a status that restricts or bans fishing and other extractive activities in that area.

Heatwaves deep in our oceans may be “significantly under-reported”, according to Reuters. A new study finds that 80% of marine heatwaves below 100 metres – which can cause severe damage to habitats such as coral reefs – occur independently of events on the surface.

New research finds a majority of young Americans are concerned about the climate crisis, and more than half say this will affect where they decide to live and whether they will have children, The Guardian reports.

Medical schools across Europe are to make mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria, a bigger part of curriculums. Researchers are studying how the climate crisis might affect the spread of such diseases.

A UK charity has called for a ban on selling items of fresh produce in plastic packaging. Countries including France have already passed similar laws.

Scientists are studying the effects of extreme storms and temperature rises on shipwrecks and how this could affect the planet. Wrecks that still have fuel onboard could pose serious pollution problems, the BBC reports.

Microplastics have been found in dolphin breath, according to a US study that suggests the animals are inhaling them when they come up for air. In recent years, scientists have found evidence of microplastics everywhere from the clouds around Japan's Mount Fuji to human blood.

It’s a triple COP year – but what does that mean, and why does it matter for business leaders and the planet? Read more about the three climate change conferences happening in 2024.

Innovative technology and nature-based approaches are helping to tackle flood risks around the world. Here are 5 examples of such sustainable and adaptable ways to address the growing threat of floods.

A concerning gap has opened up between climate goals and real actions, this piece argues. Governments and companies must adjust their targets and behavior to stay aligned and meet climate commitments.