For Nik Kowsar, civil unrest in Iran is not new. In this episode, Nik shares how he harnesses the power of media and technology to spread the word about water issues in his home country.

Can water risk disclosure move the needle on corporate water stewardship? And what does it have to do with our own retirement funds? In this very special episode of What About Water? – recorded on location at World Water Week – Jay sits down with Cate Lamb in Stockholm, Sweden to discuss valuing water. We hear how companies with high water-related risks affect our own bottom line, and how pensions hang in the balance when the value of those companies erode in the face of climate change.

This week on What About Water?, we look at water infrastructure – from broken water pipes across America to the redistribution of water rights in Chilé – and what role governments play in fixing the systems that distribute our water.

With climate change threatening freshwater sources, water demand across the globe is likely to increase by 20 – 30% between now and 2050. In this episode, we’re looking at two promising solutions to create clean drinking water from surprising places: our sewers and oceans.

Transboundary waters – the rivers, lakes, and aquifers shared by two or more countries – are found in 153 of the world’s 192 countries, accounting for an estimated 60% of global freshwater flow. As a critical component of our survival, water has long been a source of conflict between nations. But the stakes are higher with a rapidly increasing population and threats of water scarcity. In this episode, we talk to Aaron Wolf, a trained mediator and Professor of Geography in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, about transboundary cooperation as a useful tool for adaptation.

We’re already reaping the financial repercussions of climate change. Four Twenty Seven projects that by 2040, roughly $78 trillion, equivalent to about 57% of the world’s current GDP, will be exposed to flooding. On this episode of What About Water? we ask the question: can market incentives align with climate priorities? And how do we hold big corporations accountable?

For centuries, we have built big dams, reservoirs, and levees. Humans have steered and shaped the flow of water to irrigate deserts, prevent floods and access groundwater. But through big engineering, we’ve also created breaks in the natural flow of freshwater from source to sea. The good news is: we can look to nature for solutions to fix it.