Energy-water-carbon Nexus at Urban Scale

Energy production relies heavily on water consumption. To feed the growing population and meet the increasing needs of economy, the expansion of social energy sector cannot be avoided, which puts more pressures on the fresh water supply for cities. Meanwhile, cities suffers a lot from severe water scarcity problems. At another hand, energy consumption has a positive correlation with carbon emissions which is proved by previous studies, and urban areas accounts for more than half of the total global carbon emission. Therefore, this study aims to develop a framework for modelling energy-water-carbon nexus at urban scale, and facilitate the mitigation of carbon emission in urban area. This paper choosing Beijing (China) as a case, analyzes the energy-water-carbon nexus beneath the energy system and water system in Beijing via a combination of Material flow analysis (MFA) and input-output analysis (IOA).