WC144 SeptOct 2025 - Magazine - Page 38
H2OPINION
Water Can’t Wait
The G7 overlooked a $200 billion problem in the
global economy, but we can still 昀椀x it
BY JUSTIN MURGAI
ATER SCARCITY, alongside insufficient
access, governance, and infrastructure, is already
stifling gross domestic product (GDP), fueling
cross-border conflict, and undermining global
economic growth. The G7 provided the new
Canadian government with an opportunity to demonstrate
that their definition of ‘Canada Strong’ does not end at our
national borders.
Yet despite its clear link to economic stability and national
security, water was absent from all six G7 Leaders’ Statements.
We need global leaders to use their position of influence
to address the impacts of the global water crisis on people
worldwide. The wildfires devastating Canada are just one
example of what happens when water systems collapse under
the stress of a changing climate. Fire flows in remote First Nations communities in Canada alone, reliant on below capacity
water infrastructure, are insufficient to prevent or mitigate
catastrophic fires despite heroic efforts of water operators.
“Weneedgloballeaderstousetheirpositionof
in昀氀uencetoaddresstheimpactsoftheglobalwater
crisisonpeopleworldwide.”
From cyclones and widespread flooding to soaring heatwaves
and deadly drought, 90 per cent of all natural disasters are
water-related, and they are an everyday reality for many.
Global water security’s absence from this year’s agenda ignores
the urgency of addressing water access for the 4 billion people
worldwide who currently lack it. They are tearing families
apart, displacing people from their lands, and cutting off
crucial water supplies.
This is on top of recent devastating cuts to global aid – the
impact of which is only just beginning to emerge.
Global leaders can still change this future—despite the disappointments earlier this year, Canada’s 2025 G7 Presidency still
has a unique chance to make a difference on the water agenda.
Justin Murgai is the CEO of WaterAid with nearly
two decades of experience across the humanitarian
aid and development sectors in South and SouthEast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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WATER C AN ADA • SEP TEMBER/OCTOBER 2025
Action on the G7 Water Coalition, announced last year in
Italy, is the critical message uniting over 20 organizations and
member networks across Canada who have written to Prime
Minister Carney urging Canada to lead on global water security during their G7 Presidency.
Additionally, as set out in the Kananaskis Wildfire
Charter, Canada and the world need to adapt and build
resilient infrastructure to cope with the growing threat from
wildfires, and it must include a whole of society approach
for water security to meet the scale of the crisis. The Critical
Minerals Action Plan, built from the announcement in 2023
and advanced in 2024, sets a path for progress from plan to
action over subsequent G7 Presidencies. Responsible water
extraction and use is noticeably absent and yet water insecurity presents significant risks to resilience of supply chains and
economies.
Water is not only a global challenge, but a Canadian one,
with nature, freshwater lakes, rivers and coastal landscapes
central to Canada’s identity.
And Canada knows better than anyone that water security
is central to the health of people and our planet, for access to
education, economic growth, peacebuilding, and resilience to
extreme weather events.
Urgent investment in water security is needed. Investment that is guided by high standards of water stewardship,
empowered leadership of women, informed by Indigenous
knowledge and voices of young people.
Canada can ensure that its G7 Presidency in 2025 is the
year the world moved from procrastination to progress in
tackling the challenge of global water security.
The cost of inaction is rising. Water cannot wait.
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
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