01 Sep 2014
00:00
Seminar at the World Water Week 2014 // Irrigation Subsidies: How to Turn from the Overuse of Water and Energy to Sustainability?
The energy price is a strong driver for groundwater abstraction. Several countries subsidise diesel or electricity for the agricultural sector to secure farmer's income for national food sovereignty. These incentives lead to an expansion of the area on which water intensive crops are cultivated with water inefficient technologies that finally result in the depletion of groundwater and energy resources.
Such depletion has also vast implications for the energy sector. Electricity companies and State Electricity Boards are not able to cover their costs therefore they cannot invest in new power plants or better infrastructure. A cash-starved electricity system will favour options with low up-front costs. Thus renewable electricity can be held back, further exposing countries and consumers to the impacts of high and volatile fossil fuel prices.