UN conference in NY – President Áder warns of looming water crisis

New York, September 22 (MTI) – Unless the world takes proper action within the next 15-20 years, it will be plunged into a water crisis, the Hungarian president said at a UN water management conference in New York on Wednesday.

Humanity’s fate will depend on how it responds to the challenges of climate change and the impending water crisis, which threatens more and more countries, János Áder said at the High-Level Panel on Water.

If the world fails to act within the next 15-20 years, the accelerating rate of climate change could mean that it will be too late to address the crisis, he said. The president urged global information-sharing and cooperation to address the world’s water challenges.

After the panel, Áder told a press conference that the three most important tasks that need to be carried out in order to avert a water crisis are securing drinking water worldwide, stopping the pollution of the world’s waters and more effective water management. He noted that nearly 2 billion people in the world today lack access to safe water, adding that if the water issue is not addressed properly, billions more will be left without clean water and tens of millions will be forced to leave their homes.

The conference was also attended by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, South African President Jacob Zuma and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon.

Áder later told MTI that he said he was not surprised by the high level of interest the conference had generated, as the water crisis affects everyone. “Over the past few years, nature has continually sent us warning signs that our present way of life … is not sustainable anymore,” he said, noting the record-breaking floods and droughts that have displaced millions of people in recent years.