The hidden cost of water in Europe and Central Asia

Delivering water safely uses a surprising amount of energy. In the emerging markets and developing economies of Europe and Central Asia, the energy footprint of delivering water services is particularly high. The average country spends about 10% of its energy bills on water use—more than five times the share spent in advanced economies. In fact, total water-related energy use in the region annually is roughly equal to the total energy consumption of Greece. 

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From Risk to Resilience: Strengthening Preparedness for Wildfires and Earthquakes in Europe

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Wildfires in Europe are becoming more frequent and severe, with record areas burnt in 2025. Spreading into regions once considered low risk, wildfires increasingly threaten lives, communities, and infrastructure.
  • More than one-third of the EU population lives in seismic zones, yet awareness is dangerously low. Aging housing and vulnerable critical services leave people exposed, while secondary hazards such as landslides, soil liquification, and tsunamis can worsen earthquake impacts.
  • Strategic investments in resilient infrastructure, early-warning systems, and recovery planning, including post-disaster financing, can help reduce risks, protect people, and strengthen preparedness.
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Promoting Productivity Would Boost GDP and Create More and Better Jobs for Countries in Europe and Central Asia

WASHINGTON, November 24, 2025—Countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) should urgently push to make more efficient use of existing economic assets and invest in the capabilities of its firms and people to unlock faster growth, according to a new World Bank report released today.

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IFI Water Sector Fact Finding Mission

With pleasure we would like to tell you more about our upcoming mission: The Internationalwater_hero Financial Institutions (IFI) Water technology fact-finding mission to Washington D.C. 22-25 January 2024. This event is co-organized with the other private sector liaison officers of Austria, Germany, Spain, Canada, Switzerland and England.

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Remembering the lessons of COVID-19 to build resilience for future shocks in Europe and Central Asia

From January 2020 until recently, COVID-19 dominated international headlines and ourserbiacovidtesting.jpg thoughts. Europe and Central Asia were severely hit by COVID-19, facing among the highest excess death rates in the worldAs we start to mask less and come together more, we should reflect on the ramifications of COVID-19 and how we are helping the most vulnerable in Europe and Central Asia address the human capital losses it induced.   

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eC2: Europe and Central Asia Regional Water Security Initiative: Development of an Assessment Methodology and preparation of Diagnostic reports

Deadline:   14-Dec-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)water

Objective: The objective of the assignment is to identify and benchmark current and future challenges around water security in the Europe and Central Asia region; and, to develop a methodology to prepare country and regional water security assessments as well as to provide country specific recommendations. The assignment will also support (a) the assessment and description of a broad story of current and future water security (taking into account inter alia climate change and changes in socio-economic development patterns) that is relevant to policy makers both within and outside of the water sector; and, (b) through the development of the referred platform, contribute to discussions around potential actions to enhance water security and reform agendas through the definition of best-fit practices and international comparison.

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eC2: Legal COVID-19 PPP Rapid Assessment – Africa, Europe, Middle East

Deadline: 07-May-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) CoronaVirusHeader-Final-3-1536x647

To inform the Bank in the dialogue and support to governments with critical strategic short-term advice on the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, IPG and PPIAF are establishing this Rapid Response Program. The Program will help provide international best practice insights in the Banks dialogue with client countries regarding options for planning for the medium to long-term impacts on PPP portfolios and ensuring they have access to the latest information and advice on relevant topics.

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