At the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) conference companies and public authorities from Denmark and abroad discussed how to address the world's enormous waste of water resources.

Danish Minister for the Environment Ida Auken participated in the conference with the aim of making liaisons and agreements between Danish and foreign authorities and companies that can contribute to curbing global waste of water resources.

- Danish businesses and public authorities have extensive experience in reducing water wastage. We waste only 5-10 percent of water in Denmark and we can therefore help other countries to avoid losing huge amounts of water in their systems. We have the solutions and know-how that it takes, and a conference like this one is an obvious opportunity to enter into new partnerships," said Ida Auken. 

Read more about water technologies on www.stateofgreen.com

According to McKinsey & Company, water wastage entails a global loss of resources of USD 170 billion annually. Furthermore, in some places, as much as 80% of the water is lost before it reaches the end consumer. 

The cities are the culprits

The Danish Ministry of the Environment and the City of Copenhagen have instigated a public-private partnership to curb water wastage in water infrastructures in large cities around the world.

Large cities in developing countries, in particular, are the main culprits when it comes to wasting water, but the more developed countries also have problems in this area. Therefore, technological solutions and know-how are needed at several levels.

- Clean drinking water is our most precious resource and access to clean water is a genuine problem in many places around the world. At the same time, tremendous amounts of water are lost due to leaking water pipes, especially in many big cities; this is simply unacceptable. We can help limit this waste by entering into partnerships with both businesses and authorities," said Ida Auken.

The Danish Global Green Growth Forum initiative has been held for the second year, in partnership with South Korea and Mexico. China, Qatar and Kenya, are new members of the partnership.

Read also: Global Green Growth Forum Launches Public Private Partnerships

Further information:

Head of Division Jakob Møller Nielsen, Danish Nature Agency, + 45 7254 4891, e-mail: [email protected]

Communication Officer Grethe Linder Vinther, + 45 7254 6060 / +45 2086 3476, e-mail: [email protected]

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