Water demand is anticipated to outpace provide by as a lot as 40% in 2030, in response to a 2023 landmark report on the economics of water. On the identical time, local weather change is affecting climate patterns and as soon as water-abundant areas are working dry. In consequence, extra water must be moved round to make sure entry.
Freshwater is utilized in all the things from manufacturing to agriculture, and demand is about to extend because the inhabitants grows and thirsty AI information facilities are constructed.
“The potential for water is manifold, since clear, contemporary water can be utilized as ingesting water and water for meals manufacturing, for instance, but additionally as bulk water for factories, farms or a contribution to bulk water provide,” in response to a press release from the federal government of Greenland on its web site. “There are numerous potentialities.” CNBC reached out to Greenland officers for additional remark.
The altering movement of water
Solely about 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, offering the idea for appropriate ingesting water, and an excellent smaller quantity of that may be readily accessed.
“Traditionally we have now simply continued to drill down water tables deeper and deeper, however now we’re on the level the place the aquifers can’t replenish themselves. It takes a very long time for the floor water to percolate down,” mentioned Noah Ramos, an analyst who covers innovation at Alpine Macro with experience in water expertise. He added that merely drilling deeper can now not be “relied on.”
“For my part, proper now, the nations that do not have it as a strategic asset are higher positioned in the long term” as a result of it forces them to innovate, Ramos added. He pointed to the Center East and its funding in applied sciences like desalination, which converts seawater into ingesting water, and Israel, which recycles most of its water.
The USA, South America, and Canada have traditionally had considerable water however are dealing with new ranges of water stress, placing them in a sticky place, Ramos mentioned.
To make certain, half of the world’s inhabitants experiences water shortage for no less than one month a yr, throwing public well being and meals safety into query. Notably, China is bolstering its water infrastructure. Funding hit round $182 billion alone in 2025 as a part of the nation’s Nationwide Water Community technique, per a authorities launch. The jap energy has uneven distribution of water, as does the U.S. The U.S. has its personal water technique, whereas the European Fee has instigated a “water resilience” plan.
Makes an attempt to faucet ‘frozen capital’
Nearly all of the world’s freshwater is locked up in glaciers and ice caps, primarily in Antarctica and Greenland; every year as much as 300 billion tons of water soften from the Greenlandic ice sheet, per the territory’s authorities.
“Greenland’s freshwater reserves, a large 10% of all reserves discovered on Earth, can principally be understood as frozen capital, not a available provide,” Nick Kraft, senior analyst engaged on water, agriculture and accountable investing at Eurasia Group, advised CNBC.
“Greenland’s water is a strategic asset and a distinct segment enterprise alternative, nevertheless it’s not a sensible near-term repair for international water stress or demand,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, some are hoping to capitalize on the meltwater as local weather change accelerates. Notably, Arctic Water Financial institution, a startup, deliberate to construct a dam to seize meltwater and export it internationally. It’s unclear what occurred to the corporate, however no dam has been constructed. A special firm, Inland Ice, bottles it as premium high-purity ingesting water, to Kraft’s level. 5 companies at the moment have energetic 20-year licenses, together with Greenland Water Financial institution, which is reportedly related to Ronald Lauder, the billionaire Estée Lauder inheritor.
“Authorities have entertained proposals as formidable as constructing a dam for water export,” Kraft mentioned. “However the real-world observe document is telling: what’s really occurred to date has been small, premium boutique exports, whereas many greater export-at-scale concepts have been introduced after which stalled.”
“The associated fee is gigantic,” he mentioned. “There have been makes an attempt to bulk water transport [overseas]; none of them have been viable in any sort of method.”
Pipes containing ingesting water are proven on the Poseidon Water desalination plant in Carlsbad, California, U.S., June 22, 2021. Image taken June 22, 2021.
Mike Blake | Reuters
It’s common to maneuver water by land, be it by way of canal programs or large infrastructure networks. Nevertheless, it has been shipped in emergency conditions, notably to Barcelona in 2008 and 2024 throughout extreme drought.
“It is really extraordinarily tough to earn money from water — very, very tough. Regardless of 20 years of makes an attempt to denationalise water, it has not been an incredible success,” Swyngedouw mentioned.
Whereas some geopolitical tensions have concerned water disputes — China’s plans for the world’s largest dam sparked issues from India and Bangladesh, as an example — Swyngedouw mentioned it’s extra possible that intra-state frictions would come up because of the inequitable distribution of water.
“I am positive that a part of the rebellion that is occurring in Iran has to do with the large drought that has been happening in Iran for some time now, and makes life in Iran extraordinarily tough,” he added.
The nation is experiencing its sixth yr of drought, with some cities dealing with common interruptions to water entry.
“So the Iranian state has systematically uncared for the availability of those fundamental infrastructures, with the results that we all know, and it has accomplished that for geopolitical causes. It’s placing all its cash within the navy, that is principally the selection that they had,” he added.
Swyngedouw referred to as for better emphasis by governments on provisioning water as a public service.
Kraft added: “Water is more and more handled like a strategic asset — nearer to important infrastructure than a commodity — as local weather volatility and demand progress flip water insecurity right into a nationwide safety difficulty. This can possible carry extra headlines on its water export potential, however I do not suspect something materials [will] change by the tip of the last decade.”
“Even when Greenland’s freshwater will not be exported at scale anytime quickly, it nonetheless issues geopolitically.”
