Personal water allowance trading – learning from carbon

Globally, many regions experience rising water stress from development and climate change. For water-stressed advanced economies, personal water allowance (PWA) trading offers a nascent tool to reduce demand. Using an evaluation framework applied by the UK government to personal carbon allowance (PCA) trading this viewpoint discusses the PWA, concluding that it would be simpler to implement than the PCA, with potential co-benefits of debt reduction for vulnerable households, greater cost recovery for water utilities, energy conservation, and creation of a cultural practice supportive of the PCA. Exploratory research is needed to assess challenges and benefits in applicable territories.