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Urban wastewater treatment and reuse are crucial for achieving water sustainability. Yet, pathways of realizing water-climate synergies in the planning of wastewater infrastructure remain unclear. In this paper, we examine the nexus of urban water stress and climate impact resulting from the expansion of wastewater infrastructures across over 300 cities in China. We demonstrate how the effect of alleviating urban water stress from wastewater treatment and reclaimed water reuse has been highly uneven across cities, costing the country a 183% increase in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions during 2006-2015. Decoupling the climate impact of wastewater infrastructure from significant water stress is plausible by 2030, potentially leading to up to 35% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, given the growing demand for water reuse and investment in the diffusion of low-carbon technologies at each life-cycle stage of wastewater systems, this decoupling would be a challenging endeavor.

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