Not just the Green Deal, but also the Blue Deal. What is the EU planning?

The European Committee of the Regions recently appealed to the new European Commission to develop a European Water Strategy and appoint a commissioner responsible for water resources in the European Union. The Blue Deal, an initiative launched last year based on the Green Deal, is to be a key impetus for implementing these changes.

According to experts, accelerating water protection efforts is necessary in the face of increasingly frequent droughts, floods and problems with access to drinking water. The Blue Deal is to play an important role in adapting to climate change.

What is the Blue Deal?

The Blue Deal, a new initiative created by the European Economic and Social Committee in early 2023, aims to take action to protect water resources by the European Commission and the European Parliament. So far, the European Union’s water policy has focused mainly on monitoring water quality, but the growing problems with access to drinking water require a broader approach. As Łukasz Kozłowski, chief economist at the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs, points out, a much more comprehensive set of actions is needed.

The Director of the Central Mining Institute – National Research Institute, Jan Bondaruk, emphasizes that climate change disrupts the natural water cycle in the environment. Among the threats to water resources are unsustainable consumption habits and a false sense of security in heavily industrialized regions. Experts from GIG-PIB warn that at least 11% of the EU’s population and 17% of its territory are struggling with water shortages. Since 1980, droughts have become increasingly frequent, generating costs of up to EUR 100 billion over the last three decades. The predictions are even more worrying, especially for southern and southwestern Europe, where a 3°C increase in temperature could reduce river flows in the summer by up to 40%, which threatens agriculture and food security.

Adaptation to climate change poses huge investment challenges, with 50% of this spending related to water management, according to World Bank estimates. Changing rainfall patterns require increased water retention capacity to efficiently use resources during droughts.

Range of activities

The Blue Deal includes a wide range of actions, such as ensuring universal access to drinking water, efficient water use, combating water poverty, investing in water infrastructure, addressing water-intensive industries and water-saving technologies. The implementation of this strategy involves investments of around €390 billion, which will be spread over the period 2028-2035. Mobilizing such large funds also requires the involvement of private capital through instruments such as blue bonds, which would finance investments related to the protection of water resources.

Poland is one of the EU countries most exposed to the effects of water shortages, with water resources three times lower than the EU average. The Blue Deal creates an opportunity for Poland to obtain significant funds for investments in improving water efficiency. The aim of this initiative is not only to penalize companies, but also to create incentives and support instruments that will help manage limited water resources responsibly.

The European Committee of the Regions underlines the need to develop a comprehensive European Water Strategy and appoint a Commissioner for Water Resources. The Blue Deal, as an important element of adaptation to climate change, poses great challenges for the European Union, but also opens up new opportunities for improving water management in the region.