Direct and embodied energy-water-carbon nexus at an inter-regional scale
- Creators
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Chen, Shaoqing
- Tan, Yiqi
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Liu, Zhu
Abstract
Energy, water and carbon flows are highly intertwined in economy and influence urban and regional sustainability. Few insights have been acquired for energy-water-carbon nexus at inter-regional scale considering both in- and trans-boundary flows. Here we propose an interactive framework to assess inter-regional energy-water-carbon nexus, encapsulating both direct nexus flows within territory and nexus flows embodied in final consumption. An inter-regional input-output model is established to account for energy-related water footprint, water-related energy footprint and water-related carbon footprint from a consumption-based perspective. Using Guangdong-Hong Kong as a case study, we find that though these nexus footprints contribute a small fraction of the total energy, water and carbon footprints of both regions in 2012, their impacts should not be neglected due to higher intensities. The direct intensities of water-related energy and water-related carbon are more than 2 times higher than the total energy and carbon intensities, while their embodied intensities are over 6 times higher. Inter-regional trade plays an important role in controlling energy-water-carbon nexus of both sides. About 29–44% of the consumption-based nexus footprints of Hong Kong's consumption are outsourced to Guangdong and other regions, while 21–24% of Guangdong's footprints are from production elsewhere. These are strong signals showing the importance of managing energy-water-carbon nexus on a cross-border and fully-interactive basis.
Additional Information
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. Received 17 March 2019, Revised 14 May 2019, Accepted 20 May 2019, Available online 27 May 2019.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 95817
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20190528-112145156
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- 71704015
- Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar of Guangdong Province
- 2018B030306032
- Created
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2019-05-28Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2023-06-01Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Resnick Sustainability Institute