In my view, the biggest winner from climate change and water scarcity will be the pipe industry.
It is no secret that there is a global crises in agricultural water supplies which could threaten world food supplies in the not so distant future. The good news is that agricultural water use is so inefficient that the shortfall should be easily made up with efficiency gains. The main way to improve irrigation efficiency? Replace open channels with pipelines to reduce evaporation.
Pipelines are also a way to manage climate uncertainty for urban populations. We have seen already in Australia that the impacts of climate change are highly localised, a town dam in one area may have unprecedented low levels of inflow, while 100 kilometres away rainfall has increased in the catchment of the neighboring town. Pipelines linking dams throughout a region is one way to guarantee urban water supply.
Meanwhile in China, the same principle is operating on a much larger scale, with the South-North Diversion Project connecting all of China’s major rivers to supply the water-short North.
Of course, where you find pipes, you also find pumps. Norit Nijhuis is supplying the pumps for the Eastern section of China’s pipeline.
Keep an eye out for growth in the pipes and pumps sector!
