Why some of the world's biggest companies are increasingly worried about water scarcity

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Major companies from across a range of sectors are increasingly concerned about the cost and availability of the world's ultimate renewable resource: water.

It comes at a time when water prices are rising around the world. The average price of water increased by 60% in the 30 largest U.S. cities between 2010 and 2019, according to data compiled by Barclays, while California Water Futures have regularly jumped as much as 300% in recent years.

This came down to a strong reliance on agricultural commodities, an extreme vulnerability to water price fluctuation and operational risks ā€” including disruption from extreme events such as droughts and flooding, and fines and lawsuits linked to pollution. The research found the potential financial impact from water risk was likely to be three times higher than"Water scarcity is really important because when it runs out you have really serious problems, and because of its low price it is one of those classic externality risks," Beth Burks, director of sustainable finance at S&P Global Ratings, told CNBC via telephone.

 

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