How Chicago could be a key player in the global blue economy

As global economies shift to more sustainable business practices and energy production, alternative fuels and carbon capture take up plenty of space in the public sphere. Often overlooked by investors and leaders, though, is the importance of water to economic development.

"If you're a company that's making a decision about a 20- or 30-year investment in a plant, water availability today [should be] one thing that you care about," Alaina Harkness, CEO of Chicago-based water innovation and development nonprofit Current, told ChicagoGlobal.

Harkness, who is a former non-resident fellow at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, believes that what is known as the blue economy will play an increasingly important role in global development in the coming years.

For Chicago, and the Great Lakes region more broadly, there is potentially much to gain from becoming a leader in this space - especially since water is on track to be a much scarcer resource in the near future.