ROME (ITALPRESS) – “Acea is the first Italian water operator and a leader in Europe. It has been involved, for more than 80 years, in the management and distribution of water resources in multiple territories, with the mission of ensuring that every citizen has access to drinking water of quality, in sufficient quantity and at the right cost. Water is essential for life but also for economic development, yet its true value remains largely underestimated.” Acea CEO Fabrizio Palermo writes this in the Sole 24 Ore on newsstands today, on the occasion of World Water Day.
“The European water sector, with a value of about 290 billion euros and more than 1.6 million people employed, contributes nearly 70 percent of the European Union’s GDP. Despite its crucial role, access to water still remains a problem in Europe for 16 million citizens and investment in the water sector remains insufficient,” Palermo continued. World Water Day is a time to raise awareness and reflect on how we can all help preserve it. This year is dedicated to “glacier conservation,” a theme that underscores the urgency of protecting these essential natural reserves as we are witnessing their rapid melting. However, it is not enough just to celebrate water; to ensure its security and sustainability, it is essential to change how we manage this precious resource.”
“Operators play a key role in adapting water systems to changing needs and are engaged daily in modernizing infrastructure and adopting new practices for water reuse. In this context, new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things, play a key role in achieving water resilience. And we now come to talk about a structural problem of fundamental importance,” the Acea CEO explains. “Italy, despite being a territory rich in water resources, faces a crucial challenge: the infrastructure is old, with an average age of more than 30 years, due to the serious investment deficit of recent decades. This is accompanied by considerable fragmentation of the water sector at both the territorial and management levels. It appears, therefore, now necessary to initiate a process of aggregation: industrial operators are able to guarantee the necessary skills and have the ability to attract the investments that the sector badly needs.”
In addition, for Palermo, “it is unthinkable that investments should be financed only through tariffs: dedicated economic resources must be allocated to the water sector at the national and European levels and additional funds from banks and financial institutions. We are looking to the future, a future in which sustainability is no longer a choice but a necessity. The challenges related to water management are enormous and require a collective commitment of all institutions, companies and citizens. Only with everyone working together will we be able to ensure in the future a world in which water always remains an abundant and available resource.”
“Institutions and companies are working together in this direction. For more than a year Acea has been working at the international level to put water at the center of the agenda of the World Economic Forum in Davos and is working with the European Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Circular and Competitive Economy, Jessika Roswall, to forge a pact on water that aims at a global alliance for the water transition,” the Acea CEO concludes. “Today, more than ever, is the time to act, to invest in solutions that protect our planet and to educate people about the culture of responsibility towards the water resource. Only in this way can we preserve water, for us and for future generations.”
– Photo ACEA Press Office –
(ITALPRESS)
