Water–energy–carbon nexus at campus scale: Case of North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power

Li, Ruishi; Zhao, Rongqin; Xie, Zhengjun; Xiao, Liangang; Chuai, Xiaowei; Feng, Mengyu; Zhang, Huifang; Luo, Huimin

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113001

Cited by 30 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 65 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As human socioeconomic development and the demand for water increase, the configuration of water resources in socioeconomic systems undergoes changes that alter the characteristics of carbon emissions [21]. The dynamic interplay between a low-carbon economy and sustainable water resource management, driven by energy flows, is continually evolving, and its synergistic effects warrant growing attention in the holistic response to climate change [22].…”

Section: Synergistic Mechanisms Between Low-carbon Economy and Water ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

An Empirical Exploration of the Low-Carbon Economy- Water Resource Nexus in China

Gao,

Deng,

Chen

2024

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Utilizing an extensive dataset pertinent to the low-carbon economy and water resources extracted from 30 provinces across China, encompassing the period from 2004 to 2019, we have structured a synergistic model that explores the integrative interplay between the low-carbon economic framework and the water resource system. To assess the composite synergy effects, we employed Kernel density estimation in conjunction with Markov chain analysis, aiming to elucidate the temporal distribution dynamics and the spatial evolutionary patterns of provincial-level synergism within China's low-carbon economy-water resource nexus. Our findings reveal that, over the span from 2005 to 2019, the synergy effect within China's hybridized low-carbon economy-water resource system predominantly occupied a stage of moderate amalgamation, demonstrating a consistent upward trajectory since 2011. Notably, multilevel differentiation of composite system synergy is evident nationally, with pronounced trends of divergence manifesting in the eastern, western, and northeastern provinces. In contrast, the synergy effect exhibited in the central region is characterized by regional heterogeneity, yet the absolute disparities in synergy levels have diminished over time. Moreover, analysis of the synergy degree's rank order status within the composite system indicates a relative stability, punctuated by a 'club convergence' phenomenon. Against the backdrop of global climate change, the interactions between low-carbon economies and water resources have garnered significant attention within the realm of global sustainable development research. Exploring these synergistic relationships offers a potential avenue for identifying effective strategies to manage and harness resources, thereby facilitating economic growth and social advancement while mitigating the pace of global climate change. This paper employs data related to the low-carbon economy and water resources in 30 provinces of China from 2004 to 2019. It constructs a composite system model and an evaluation index system to investigate the synergistic effect between these two factors. The study employs the kernel density estimation method and Markov chain to analyze the distribution dynamics and spatial evolution of the synergy level in the composite system of the low-carbon economy and water resources across each province in China. The results indicate the following: [1] Between 2005 and 2019, the synergy effect of China's low-carbon economy-water resources complex system exhibited a mild level of synergy. Since 2011, the degree of synergy has steadily increased, with the synergy degrees of the low-carbon economy system, water resources system, and their complex systems reaching 0.256, 0.487, and 0.277, respectively, by 2019. [2] The absolute difference in the level of synergy between the low-carbon economy and water resources complex systems in the east, west, and northeast regions demonstrates a significant expansion. However, in the central region, regional differences in the synergy effect ...

show abstract

Section: Synergistic Mechanisms Between Low-carbon Economy and Water ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

An Empirical Exploration of the Low-Carbon Economy- Water Resource Nexus in China

Gao,

Deng,

Chen

2024

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Scope 3 emissions mostly included upstream energy supply, student and staff commuting, and procurements. Li et al [46] adopted the "water-energy-carbon nexus" at the North China University of Water Resources and Electric to estimate the power usage patterns of carbon emission sources and natural carbon sinks. The different characteristics of the water-energy-carbon nexus of different functional areas of the campus were also examined.…”

Section: The Ways Of Calculating the Carbon Emissions Of University C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

University-Campus-Based Zero-Carbon Action Plans for Accelerating the Zero-Carbon City Transition

Islam,

Liu,

et al. 2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

After three decades of global climate initiatives, local governments’ capabilities to implement policies and solutions have not always been effective in making the urban environment more resilient and adaptive to climate change. All the previous climatic initiatives and decisions were mostly carried out by governments or affiliated actors on global or regional scales. However, the lack of notable climate actions at the community level is evident in the current crisis of urban sustainability. To drive a radical change toward a zero-carbon transition at the city scale, massive decarbonization is required at the institutional level (academic/nonacademic campus) of a city. Among all the nongovernmental actors, it is always expected that Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) would take the lead in promoting a resilient and sustainable future for the cities through their education, research, and innovation. HEIs’ multidimensional activity resembles the “small scale model of a city” interacting with different subsystems like education, administration, transport, housing, health, etc. However, the present studies were found to be mostly based on specific regions and developed countries. In addition, the previously developed methods of assessing energy consumption and CO2 emissions at the university level lack adaptability for other countries and urban settings. Following the need for a comprehensive method of evaluating energy consumption and accelerating the zero-carbon practice to a broader scale, a new framework is proposed here for a university campus. It can be implemented regardless of the campus type and geographic and weather conditions. After implementing the evaluation methods on a 753-acre campus of Rajshahi University, the campus typology and natural resources were identified. Following that, the behavior patterns of the users in terms of energy usage and waste generation were also determined. Finally, the results show that 1900.71 tons of CO2 was emitted in the academic year 2022. The per-capita CO2 emission was 0.041 tons of CO2. To boost the zero-carbon city transition, three core parameters of scaling-up methods were taken into consideration to evaluate the benefits of zero-carbon campuses. The scalability of the zero-carbon practices was evaluated based on the ideas of (1) expansion—how educating future generations about the environment can have a long-lasting impact, (2) demonstration—adopting innovative practical and technological solutions to exhibit the benefits of zero-carbon practices to society, and (3) collaboration—building strong alliances with state and nonstate actors of the city to promote sustainability through sharing knowledge, innovation, and technology.

show abstract

“…To promote sustainable development, it will be necessary to establish a carbon emissions accounting system applicable to university campuses and to formulate a reasonable carbon emissions reduction target (Li et al, 2022). One of the latest universal tools developed for crediting universities' efforts in reducing their carbon footprint is the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings system, a 6-criteria evaluation tool with indicators.…”

Section: Ui Greenmetric World University Rankingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Based Core Sustainability Metrics for University Campuses Developing Towards Climate Neutrality: A Robust Picsou Framework

Jiang¹,

Kurnitski²

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water–energy–carbon nexus at campus scale: Case of North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power

Cited by 30 publications

References 65 publications

An Empirical Exploration of the Low-Carbon Economy- Water Resource Nexus in China

An Empirical Exploration of the Low-Carbon Economy- Water Resource Nexus in China

University-Campus-Based Zero-Carbon Action Plans for Accelerating the Zero-Carbon City Transition

Performance Based Core Sustainability Metrics for University Campuses Developing Towards Climate Neutrality: A Robust Picsou Framework

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About