Water will become more valuable than oil as rising demand from people, industries and agriculture puts pressure on supplies, according to the chief executive of Suez, the French utility.

法国公用事业公司苏伊士(Suez)的首席执行官称，水将比石油更昂贵，原因是人类、工业和农业不断上升的需求将给水的供应带来压力。

Jean-Louis Chaussade, whose company agreed this month to buy General Electric’s water unit for $3.4bn, said water scarcity posed one of the biggest challenges facing industries such as chemicals, drugs, mining and energy.

让-路易•肖萨德(Jean-Louis Chaussade)的公司本月同意以34亿美元收购通用电气(GE)水务部门，他表示水资源稀缺是化工、制药、采矿和能源等行业面临的最大挑战之一。

Asked whether water would one day be a more valuable commodity than oil, Mr Chaussade told the Financial Times: “In future, probably yes.”

当被问及有一天水会不会成为比石油更昂贵的大宗商品时，肖萨德对英国《金融时报》说：“在未来，答案很可能是肯定的。”

He cited projections that by 2035 40 per cent of the world population will live in areas facing water scarcity. This would put companies in competition with people and agriculture for supplies.

他援引了一些预测，这些预测认为到2035年40%的世界人口将生活在缺水地区。这将使企业与人和农业竞争水的供应。

“Governments are saying to industries: ‘You can operate here but you can’t take water from underground’,” Mr Chaussade said. “Companies will have to rely on waste-water recycling or desalination plants to meet their needs.”

“政府在对产业说：‘你可以在这里经营，但你不能从地下抽水’，”肖萨德表示，“企业将不得不依赖废水循环或者海水淡化工厂来满足自身需求。”

Mr Chaussade said the €95bn market for industrial water services was set to expand at an annual rate of 5 per cent over the long term — outpacing global economic growth of about 3 per cent.

肖萨德表示，从长期来看，950亿欧元的工业用水服务市场将以5%的年度增幅扩大——超过约3%的全球经济增长率。

Suez’s investment in industrial water contrasts with efforts by its biggest shareholder, Engie, the French energy group, to exit oil and gas production and coal-fired power generation as the world shifts beyond fossil fuels.

Suez对工业用水的投资与其最大股东、法国能源集团Engie形成了对照，随着世界逐渐转向化石燃料以外的能源，后者正在退出石油和天然气生产以及燃煤发电。

Industrial water services provide a bigger opportunity for Suez than its traditional municipal business, he added, because industries account for a fifth of global use compared with 5 per cent for humans. The rest is used by agriculture.

他补充道，比起Suez传统的市政用水业务，工业用水服务给予了Suez更大的机会，因为工业用水占全球用水的五分之一，相比之下人类用水占5%。剩下部分是农业用水。

GE Water helps companies including ExxonMobil, Pfizer and Nestlé manage treatment and consumption of water.

通用电气的水公司GE Water帮助埃克森美孚(Exxon Mobil)、辉瑞(Pfizer)和雀巢(Nestlé)等公司管理水的处理和使用。

About half of the US company’s revenues come from the US but Mr Chaussade said the strongest growth potential was in developing economies, especially China.

这家美国公司约一半的收入来自美国，但肖萨德表示，发展中经济体的增长潜力最强，尤其是中国。

Suez agreed to buy the GE unit in partnership with Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, a Canadian pension fund manager.

Suez同意与加拿大养老基金管理公司魁北克储蓄投资集团(Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec)合作收购这家通用电气子公司。