Around the globe, 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water, and 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. Even in the United States, access to water and sanitation is not universal. Climate change threatens to worsen poverty and current inequities in access to water and sanitation. It is imperative that climate resilience strategies address the needs of our most vulnerable communities and that efforts to meet water and sanitation needs consider climate impacts.
The Pacific Institute is addressing climate impacts on access to water and sanitation, as well as economic livelihood for vulnerable communities in the U.S. and around the world. This critical work helps ensure investments that address the current humanitarian crisis also consider climate variability and uncertainty.