Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt on Monday the second day of World Water Week in Stockholm called for increased efforts over climate change in order to prevent more acute problems with water scarcity, according to DPA. Speaking to more than 1,300 attendees at the conference, Reinfeldt said unhindered climate change would lead to more desertification in parts of the world and flooding in others. Currently one billion people lack access to clean drinking water. 2.4 billion people worldwide lack good sanitation facilities, which daily contributes to the deaths of 34,000 people, he said. Concerning climate change, the prime minister said that "for changes to be made, it is not enough for the EU to act. We have to bring the US, China and India to obligate themselves effectually to take action." The conference, which will feature delegates from 140 countries, has since the beginning of the 1990s served as the premier international forum for discussing environmentally sustainable water initiatives and water distribution issues.
