Managing the water-energy-food nexus in China by adjusting critical final demands and supply chains: An input-output analysis

Hong-Mei Deng; Can Wang; Wen-Jia Cai; Yuan Liu; Li-Xiao Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137635

Managing the water-energy-food nexus in China by adjusting critical final demands and supply chains: An input-output analysis

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jun 10:720:137635. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137635. Epub 2020 Feb 29.

Authors

Hong-Mei Deng¹, Can Wang², Wen-Jia Cai³, Yuan Liu⁴, Li-Xiao Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
² School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: canwang@tsinghua.edu.cn.
³ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Beijing 100084, China.
⁴ School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo 186-8601, Japan.
⁵ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Beijing 100084, China; School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.

PMID: 32325592
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137635

Abstract

The rapid population growth in China has increased the demand for limited water, energy and food resources. Because the resource supply is constrained by future uncertainties such as climate change, it is necessary to examine the connections among water, energy and food resources from the perspective of the relevant final demands. Based on an input-output model and structural path analysis, this study aims to explore the hidden connections among water, energy and food resources by identifying important final demands and examine how these resources are embodied in upstream production and downstream consumption processes along the supply chain. The water-energy-food nexus approach in this research identifies where and how these resources intersect in economic sectors. By simultaneously considering the water, energy and food footprints, synergistic effects can be maximized among these resource systems. The results reveal that urban household consumption and fixed capital formation have large impacts on water-energy-food resources. Besides, agriculture, construction and service sectors have the largest water-energy-food footprints. For each resource, we rank the top-20 supply chain paths from the final demands to the upstream production sectors, and six critical supply chain paths are identified as important contributors to the consumption of all these resources. Compared with independent approach to manage water, energy and food resources, the nexus approach identifies the critical linkages of the water, energy and food systems and helps to formulate integrated policies to effectively manage these resources across sectors and actors. Synergistic strategies for conserving water, energy, and food resources can be achieved through avoiding unnecessary waste in end uses and improving resource use efficiency along critical supply chains. This research can help consumers, industries and the government make responsible consumption and production decisions to conserve water, energy and food resources.

Keywords: China; Final demands; Input-output model; Structural path analysis; Supply chain; Water-energy-food nexus.