Impact of Changing Water Demand on the Rhine Basin under Climate Change

One of the working themes of our CHR commission concerns providing insight into current and future water use and water demand using socio-economic scenarios (SES). In light of climate change, water use and water demand are expected to change in the future. At the end of 2025, the CHR produced a synthesis report on this SES topic, which can be found here. Work on this theme is now continuing, and this issue is more urgent than ever. In addition to future water use and water demand, insights about future Rhine discharges in the context of climate scenarios and expected weather conditions are of great importance. The CHR is currently working on the latter as part of its Rheinblick2027 project. Further details on our work on SES, its connection to Rheinblick2027, and corresponding key policy takeaways can be found in the flyer (in English) here. In the autumn of 2026, the CHR aims to organize a workshop on the SES theme. Further information on this will follow later this year