NKU: Climate Change Threatens Safe Access to Drinking Water, Warn Auditors

Bratislava, 3 July (TASR) – Climate change poses a serious threat to safe access to drinking water, according to auditors attending the 23rd annual conference of the Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) held by global audit organisation INTOSAI in Malta. Representatives of Slovakia's Supreme Audit Authority (NKU) presented their findings from a 2024 audit on the effectiveness of Slovak national climate protection measures. NKU president Lubomir Andrassy stated that Slovakia is making little progress in meeting its climate and environmental commitments. "Recent years have shown stagnation in implementing action plans, funding greenhouse gas-reduction projects, watercourse protection and flood-prevention measures," he said, warning that the consequences of global warming now threaten not only property but also lives more than other security risks. Andrassy also noted that armed conflicts severely undermine the long-term progress of environmental initiatives. "The future implementation of these projects is seriously endangered on a global scale. A continued reduction in investment in the protection of nature will have incalculable consequences for public health and will drastically reduce the quality of life for millions while fuelling uncontrolled migration and disrupting the Earth's ecosystems," he cautioned. According to NKU spokesperson Daniela Bolech Dobakova, the year 2024 was the hottest on record. She emphasised that Slovakia and central European countries are already experiencing the impact of climate change in the form of falling groundwater levels, drying-up streams and the expansion of drought-stricken areas. She stressed that drought and water-source protection must become strategic priorities for governments, parliaments and civil society. NKU warned of major risks in Slovakia's water-management sector. "State institutions and local governments responsible for supplying drinking water and modernising water infrastructure are facing an investment gap worth several billion euros. As a result, nearly 30 percent of water is lost due to outdated distribution systems," explained Dobakova. She added that progress in environmental protection will be assessed by independent auditing bodies using unified Climate Scanner methodology co-developed by Slovak auditors between 2023 and 2025. This is the first global tool enabling impartial assessments of the progress made by countries in terms of climate and environmental policies. "With this international methodology, we'll be able to objectively evaluate environmental strategies and the effectiveness of resource use. Just as importantly, global standards will allow us to measure the broader impact of measures on people's quality of life," said Andrassy. mf/df