Finally, an innovation with the power to bring clean drinking water to the over a billion people around the globe who (according to the World Health Organization) currently lack it: the Solvatten solar water purifier.

This patented Swedish invention has been chosen by the World Wildlife Federation as a “climate solver” for its ability not only to purify drinking water, but to do so without creating a carbon footprint. Currently, large numbers of people around the globe use firewood to purifying water by boiling it. While firewood, being a biomass fuel, only releases the same amount of carbon it sequestered during its life as a tree, deforestation for firewood still equals a serious climate threat 

image via Solvatten

The WWF estimates that devices like the Solvatten, with widespread distribution, could reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 26 million tons per year by the year 2020. As an added bonus, the Solvatten solar water purifier also works as a mobile water heater for cooking and bathing.

Solvatten solar water purifier [via Good Clean Tech]