SOME 26 per cent of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water and 46 per cent lack access to basic sanitation, according to an alarming new United Nations report.

The World Water Development Report 2023 was published on the eve of a major three-day UN water conference that opened in New York today, the first of its kind in over 45 years.

Delegates from 171 countries and more than 20 organisations will discuss what needs to be done to meet the UN goals of ensuring all people have access to clean water and sanitation by 2030.

Richard Connor, editor-in-chief of the report, told a news conference that the estimated cost of meeting the goals was somewhere between $600 billion (£490bn) and $1 trillion (£817bn) a year.

Investment is needed to sustain the environment and provide drinkable water to the two billion people who don’t have it and sanitation to the 3.6 million in need, Mr Connor said.

According to the report, water use has been increasing globally by roughly 1 per cent per year over the last 40 years and is expected to grow at a similar rate until 2050.

Mr Connor said that the major increase in demand was coming from developing countries and emerging economies, where it is driven by industrial development and the rapid population growth in cities.

However, David Boys of trade union body Public Services International called the conference “a missed opportunity.”

He said: “It will not result in new policies based on a thorough review of past progress or failings.

“Instead, the UN wants to see governments, businesses and NGOs make voluntary, non-binding commitments of actions they will carry out.”

According to leading Dutch environmentalist Alexander Verbeek, “to protect life on earth, water management must be transformed.

“We have a huge opportunity to make 2023 a real watershed moment and drive game-changing water action.”

Speaking from the conference, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said wanted to remind delegates to “protect, restore and invest in water services for people forced to flee.”

World Wildlife Fund freshwater lead Stuart Orr said: “We can tackle the water crisis, but only if we remember one of the world’s most forgotten facts: water does not come from a tap. It comes from nature.

“[The] water sector will only achieve its goal of water for all if it stops ignoring nature and starts restoring it.”