Laboratory of Systems Ecology and Sustainability Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Laboratory of Systems Ecology and Sustainability Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy and Power Systems, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 Sep 20;736:139582. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139582. Epub 2020 May 22.
The increasing energy demand in future will inevitably escalate pressures on water resources, as energy production needs huge amounts of water inputs. Globalization has resulted in the geographic separation between the source of water inputs for energy production and the sink of its final consumption, making it crucial to factor global supply chain effect into water-energy nexus management. Therefore, this paper investigates water use for energy from source of exploitation to sink of final consumption along global supply chains based on embodiment accounting method. In total, the energy-related water use embodied in international trade is in magnitude about 80% of global total energy-related water use in 2011. It should be noted that non-energy commodities contribute more than four fifths of energy-related water use embodied in international trade and global final consumption. China serves the largest exporter of energy-related water use while EU28 is the biggest receiver. From a perspective of global supply chains, two thirds of USA direct energy-related water use sinks into final consumption from rest of the world, and over a quarter of that embodied in Mainland China's final consumption is from USA, showing the tight relation between them on global supply chains. Findings highlight the urgent need to consider international trade (i.e., energy and non-energy commodity trade) and global supply chain effects for water-energy nexus policy-making to ensure the sustainable water supply for energy development.
未来不断增长的能源需求不可避免地会给水资源带来更大压力，因为能源生产需要大量的水资源投入。全球化导致了能源生产的水资源投入源与最终消费的汇之间的地理分离，因此将全球供应链效应纳入水-能源关系管理至关重要。因此，本文基于体现核算方法，研究了沿全球供应链从开采源到最终消费汇的能源用水情况。总的来说，国际贸易中与能源相关的用水量约占 2011 年全球与能源相关总用水量的 80%。值得注意的是，非能源商品在国际贸易和全球最终消费中所体现的与能源相关的用水量超过五分之四。中国是最大的与能源相关的用水量出口国，而欧盟 28 国是最大的接收国。从全球供应链的角度来看，美国三分之二的直接与能源相关的用水量从世界其他地区流入最终消费，而中国最终消费所体现的美国与能源相关的用水量超过四分之一，这表明它们在全球供应链上的紧密关系。研究结果强调，迫切需要考虑国际贸易（即能源和非能源商品贸易）和全球供应链效应，以制定水-能源关系政策，确保能源发展的可持续水资源供应。
