Water: Unlocking An Essential Piece of the Climate Puzzle
Flooding. Ocean acidification. Sea level rise. Drought. Severe storms. Biodiversity Loss. There are countless dimensions to the climate crisis. Water–in our rivers, in our oceans, and below the surface–plays a critical, and often overlooked, role in each one.
The numbers don’t lie. Water problems are intrinsically linked to climate problems:
Up to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions come from water, making it a critical sector in the net-zero transition.
The ocean absorbs ~30% of carbon emissions from human activities and can hold 60 times more carbon than the atmosphere
80% of the world’s wastewater enters the environment untreated, creating harmful algal blooms which release massive stores of carbon dioxide.
Over 90% of climate-related disasters are water-related.
At Imagine H2O, we believe one thing is clear. Solving water problems is crucial to addressing challenges presented by climate change.
Our Event
Join us for a lively panel discussion between several of Imagine H2O’s founders, who will share their unique perspective on the role that water, wastewater, and ocean technology plays in tackling climate change.
Topics for discussion include:
How we think about water in the context of climate, and why it seems to be so readily omitted from the larger climate discussion.
The role of water innovation in mitigating and adapting to climate change, and how entrepreneurship is playing a role.
How pilot projects help startups scale and accelerate wider innovation adoption to make a real climate impact.
Stick around after the panel for light refreshments and networking with fellow professionals interested in bridging the gap between climate change and water!
Featured Speakers
Orianna Bretschger (CEO and Founder, Aquacycl)
Joachim “Jo” Katchinoff (CEO and Co-Founder, CREW Carbon)
Sarah Brody (Partner, McKinsey & Company)
Ralph Exton (Executive Director, Water Environment Federation)
Scott Bryan (CEO and President, Imagine H2O)
Hosts
Imagine H2O is a nonprofit organization that empowers people to develop and deploy innovation to solve water challenges globally. Since 2009, the organization has provided 217 entrepreneurs with the resources to transform promising water startups into scalable, high-impact businesses. In addition to our water innovation accelerator, we support entrepreneurial water innovations through the Coastal Innovation Challenge and Imagine H2O Asia. Our program alumni have collectively raised over $1 billion in early-stage investment.