Temporal Understanding of the Water–Energy Nexus: A Literature Review

Abstract

Guaranteeing reliable access to water and clean energy has been one of the most debated topics to promote sustainable development, which has made the Water–Energy Nexus (WEN) a relevant field of study. However, despite much development of the WEN, there are still many gaps to be addressed. One of these gaps is the understanding of temporal features. To address this, this study aimed to identify, categorize, and analyze the main temporal features applied in WEN studies based on a review of academic publications from 2010 to 2021. The results showed that most of the recent literature has focused on understanding the WEN from a quantitative perspective, often does not provide clear motivations for their choice of time, and lacks understanding of the role of historical processes. To improve the temporal understanding in WEN research, there is a need to include more methodological diversity, enhance the understanding of historical developments, and diversify the data use. The presented measures provide a chance to improve the evaluation of key issues, enhance the understanding of drivers of trade-offs between the water and energy sectors, and ground the discussion besides quantification. Moreover, these measures help the scientific community better communicate results to a broader audience.

Keywords

• water–energy nexus
• energy systems
• water resources
• sustainable development