Energy-water Nexus in Beijing: Causality Analysis and Scenario Analysis

Abstract The production, supply and distribution of energy and water resources in cities have become a hot topic in recent years. Confronted with increasing challenges of both water scarcity and energy security, collaborative management of energy and water resources from the nexus perspective can provide a new way to solve the interwoven problems. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework to model the energy-water nexus at urban scale. The model is a combination of material flow analysis (MFA) and input-output analysis (IOA), which can revalue the interrelation between energy and water in a holistic and coupling vision. We also investigate the possible existence of dynamic causality between energy consumption and water consumption in Beijing. The Granger causality analysis is employed to test the causality relationships among energy and water uses beneath the urban economic sectors. The results indicate that uni-directional causality exists in the urban energy-water nexus, beneath which there are long-period interrelations. Then, scenario analysis is conducted to find out the influences of different management suggestions. According to existing national water and energy polices, three types of interventions (S1, S2, and S3) are designated and compared to determine the effectiveness of certain mitigation strategies.