The Global Water Summit’s (GWS) URL is www.watermeetsmoney.com . When you get there, it becomes obvious why. The focus is fundamentally transactional; if you want to know who is investing where, who is selling what to whom, and how much x market is set to grow in the next 12 months, this is the place for you.

The 2025 event – which I attended last month at the invitation of our parent company and GWS host Global Water Intelligence (GWI) – was a convention of the world’s most serious water players – utilities, cities, national governments, industry and, crucially, investors – across three hectic days in Paris. Over 1,000 people were treated to the likes of four simultaneous conference streams; all day every day 1-2-1 networking; 40-at-a-time roundtable discussions; and a glimpse at global water excellence at the awards evening.
The starkly sobering theme framing the whole event was the need to accelerate investment in water in the face of breaching the 1.5ºC global heating threshold. But what did I take away for a UK audience in particular?

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1. We don’t exist in a vacuum
   That sounds obvious, but it is easy to be introspective when you confine your horizon to UK borders as a matter of course. But look up and out, and our water sector has a lot in common with others from around the world.

2. Capital is available, but easily distracted
   Trump was busy changing his tariff policies again as the Paris meeting progressed, casting a long shadow over proceedings. Trade wars, let alone some kind of macroeconomic event, would make it difficult to invest. Weighing against this, delegates generally agreed that increasingly acute experiences of extreme weather would spur water investment.

3. Private finance is welcome, but UK privatisation is frowned upon
   Suez’s water division chief executive, Pierre Pauliac, pointed out that there is “recognition that solutions will come from private water businesses”. That seemed true. Along with a much expanded role for multinational development banks, private finance – including in blended models, was generally considered essential and welcome.
   But the relentlessly negative news flow about the UK, on top of the inherent faith in public ownership of water that is common around the world, meant there was little love lost for the UK model. 

4. Reuse is going mainstream
   As the UK embarks on its journey with water reuse, there was a real sense at the GWS that the world is at some kind of tipping point, where reuse ceases to be just for specific geographies or contexts, and becomes a widespread water resource. "Let's just normalise it," urged Rolfe Eberhard, introducing a forthcoming report from the World Bank on scaling potable reuse for households and industry.

5. Engage!
   In summary, the Summit combined a heady mix of anxiety, urgency, good intent and great ideas. With such a gulf between current water investment and climate-induced need, many more such meetings will be needed to keep the pressure for action up, and to convene conversations that make action possible. 
   While not every strand of discussion will have direct or immediate relevance to UK audiences, the bigger picture is well worth being abreast of, and the rich seam of experience and opportunity available must surely be considered invaluable