Water and energy, together, underpin Europe’s economic future. Energy powers water treatment, distribution, and reuse. Water is essential for energy production and power plant cooling. Energy efficiency and water security go hand in hand. Progress in one strengthens the other.

Why Water Resilience Is Strategic

As Europe accelerates digitalization and clean technologies, water resilience becomes a strategic imperative. High-growth sectors such as semiconductor manufacturing, battery production, and data centers — all critical to Europe’s competitiveness — depend on reliable access to high-quality water. These industries are driving a sharp rise in demand at a time of growing resource challenges: today, 20% of Europe’s territory and 30% of its population face water stress.  The EU’s Water Resilience Strategy is an important milestone towards water resilience, but implementation will define success.

Putting Policy into Practice

The next phase of Europe’s future depends on decisive action on the following priorities:

• Accelerating the digitalization of water infrastructure through the upcoming EU Digital Water Action Plan
• Ensuring EU funds for water are fully utilized by supporting local implementation
• Treating water as a strategic investment, not a cost
• Anchoring water resilience in EU policy – from funding to regulation

These actions will strengthen Europe’s economic growth and strategic autonomy. They will enable cities and communities across the continent to fix aging infrastructure, reduce water losses and environmental spills, recycle and reuse more water, and digitalize pipe networks to manage water more efficiently.

Building Europe’s Water-Energy Future

Water efficiency is a high-return investment. Every euro pays back through lower energy use, reduced emissions, and enhanced water security.

The solutions exist today. What’s needed is scale and collaboration to turn existing technologies into real-world impact. Together — policymakers, industry leaders, and technology partners — we can build a water-secure future that powers economies, protects communities, and strengthens Europe’s resilience and competitiveness.

Hayati Yarkadas
EVP and President, Water Infrastructure
Xylem

As the number of people living in urban areas continues to increase, so too does the world’s average temperature and the more frequent and extreme weather events that come with it. In fact, thanks in part to the urban heat island phenomena, cities and urban populations are particularly vulnerable to increasingly extreme weather events and impacts of climate change.

As the European Commission looks to develop a new integrated framework for climate resilience and risk management, it must ensure that our cities are future proofed against the climate of tomorrow.

A good place to start is with our built environment.

Buildings have a huge potential to make our cities more climate resilient. But unlocking this potential requires that we take a holistic approach to building design and renovation. That means maximising energy efficiency through smart renovations and optimised building envelopes. It also means installing efficient and cost-effective technologies capable of providing residents with year-round comfort.

While making our buildings more energy efficient will prevent unwanted heat transfer and help reduce the urban heat island effect, the benefits of a holistic approach to building design don’t stop there. For example, by leveraging nature-based solutions like green roofs and terraces, we can help cool a building’s exterior, add to a city’s greenspace, and provide some much-needed shade on a hot summer day. Beyond keeping cities and citizens cool, nature-based solutions also act as natural sponges, soaking up water during downpours to help prevent flooding while also supporting a city’s water resource management– key aspects that should be taken into consideration for the upcoming Water Resilience Strategy.

When we design and renovate our buildings to be greener and more efficient, the net result is a more climate-resilient city – one capable of safeguarding Europe’s security and prosperity, boosting its competitiveness, and protecting the health and well-being of its citizens for years to come.

Shiraz Dromi Zernitsky
Group Public & Regulatory Affairs Director 
Knauf Insulation