University of Salerno joins global water security dialogue in New York

During Climate Week NYC and the United Nations General Assembly, the University of Salerno participated in high-level discussions regarding the global water-energy nexus. Vincenzo Naddeo, director of the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), joined Kaveh Madani, winner of the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize, to address the concept of “global water bankruptcy.”

This term, introduced by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), describes a state where rivers, aquifers, and wetlands are being exploited beyond their capacity to recover. The discussions highlighted emerging threats to water security, specifically the rising consumption demands from green hydrogen production and artificial intelligence data centers.

Following the session at the REGEN House in Manhattan, the SEED division launched “The Water Cities Dialogue” at Columbia University, a series of meetings aimed at bridging the gap between scientific research and urban water security management.