Nearly a quarter of the globe’s population does not have reasonable access to safe drinking water, and nearly half lacks access to basic sanitation, a new report issued as part of the first major United Nations conference on water in over 45 years warns. The U.N.’s World Water Development Report 2023 sets a target of 2030 to have improved potable water access and better handling of wastewater for all humans on this growing planet. Late last year, the number of people on Earth crossed the threshold of 8 billion and is only rising.
The report hits as the U.N. this week is gathering experts for the first water-focused conference since 1977. There are 171 countries, including over 100 ministers, on the speakers list, along with more than 20 organizations. Don’t miss: How to determine if your drinking water is safe as EPA moves to restrict ‘forever chemicals’ Richard Connor, lead editor of the report, told a news conference that the estimated cost of meeting the 2030 goals is between $600 billion and $1 trillion a year. But that’s spending, he says, that will be necessary to provide potable water to the 2 billion people who don’t have it and sanitation to the 3.6 million in need of these services. On average, 10% of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress and up to 3.5 billion people live under conditions of water stress at least one month a …