The World Water Council (WWC) and World Energy Council (WEC) have announced that they have joined forces to bring the issue of the water-energy nexus to the fore in the run up to the 7th World Water Forum, to be staged in Daegu, Korea from 12 to 17 April 2015.

In the agreement, the two organisations commit to work together to build an integrated programme at the Forum, and to ensure that the water-energy nexus will also be highlighted at the next World Energy Congress, to be held in Istanbul in 2016.

Members of both organisations are already working on solutions to the water-energy nexus issue.

Professor Karl Rose, Senior Director of the WEC’s World Energy Scenarios study and who is overseeing the WEC’s collaboration with the WWC, said:

“This is an excellent opportunity to bring our two organisations together to address the growing issue of the energy-water nexus. The World Energy Council highlighted this issue in 2010 with our ground-breaking report, Water for Energy, and we are now looking to address the issue in further depth as we begin work on our next World Energy Scenarios study looking to 2060.”

Benedito Braga, President of the World Water Council added:

“The World Water Council has been working on the water and energy issue since the 6th World Water Forum, and this new collaboration will give us the means to push forward and encourage harmonized policies. Water needs energy and energy needs water - understanding the interaction between these two vital elements is paramount to developing a water secure future.”

The announcement takes the two organisations’ existing collaboration to the next level. By using the expertise of both organizations, this cooperation effort will serve to further analyse and comprehend water and energy interactions.

The World Water Forum is the largest water-related event in the world, aimed at putting water firmly on the international agenda. It is organised every three years by the World Water Council in collaboration with the authorities of the host country.  The World Energy Congress is the World Energy Council’s triennial flagship event. The event is the premier global forum for leaders and thinkers to debate solutions to energy issues.