Water-saving co-benefits of CO2 reduction in China’s electricity sector
Xu Peng,
Hong Chen,
Honglin Zhong,
Ruyin Long,
Chao Zhang,
Dandan Zhao,
Guangfei Yang,
Jingke Hong,
Cuncun Duan,
Xinxian Qi,
Pengbang Wei,
Pengfei Zhang,
Jindao Chen
Affiliations
Xu Peng
School of Business, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
Hong Chen
School of Business, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Corresponding author
Honglin Zhong
Institute of Blue and Green Development, Weihai Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, Shandong University, Weihai264209, China
Ruyin Long
School of Business, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Corresponding author
Chao Zhang
School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai200092, China; Corresponding author
Dandan Zhao
Water & Development Research Group, Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, PO Box 15200, 00076Espoo, Finland; Corresponding author
Guangfei Yang
Institute of Systems Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian116024, China
Jingke Hong
School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing400045, China
Cuncun Duan
Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
Xinxian Qi
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing210023, China
Pengbang Wei
School of Management, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou450001, China
Pengfei Zhang
Institute of Blue and Green Development, Weihai Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, Shandong University, Weihai264209, China
Jindao Chen
School of Civil Engineering & Engineering Management, Guangzhou Maritime University, Guangzhou510725, China
Summary: Electricity sector is the largest CO2 emitter and water user in China’s industrial sectors. The low-carbon transition of China’s electricity sector reduces its cooling water consumption. Here we firstly quantify CO2 emission and virtual water embodied in electricity trade with Quasi-Input-Output model. Then, we analyze the impacts of energy substitution, efficiency improvement, and electricity trade on water-saving co-benefits of CO2 reduction with the differences between the baseline scenario and counterfactual scenario. Results show that the low-carbon transition contributes to water-saving in China’s electricity sector. Virtual water and embodied CO2 have relatively decoupled from electricity trade since 2012. Water-saving (+10.4% yr−1) outweighed CO2 reduction (+8.4% yr−1) through energy substitution and efficiency improvement in the ‘new normal’ stage. Our work emphasizes the need to integrate water-saving co-benefits of CO2 reduction into electricity system planning and highlights the challenges to facilitate coordinated development of the electricity-water nexus in China.
