Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effects

This review studies the cascading impacts of extreme weather events on the Water-Energy-Carbon (WEC) Nexus, with a focus on their combined and sequential effects. It synthesizes research on how droughts, floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, and wildfires each initiate a chain reaction within the interconn...

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Main Authors: Alexis Pengfei Zhao, Shuangqi Li, Da Xie, Paul Jen-Hwa Hu, Chenye Wu, Faith Xue Fei, Thomas Tongxin Li, Yue Xiang, Chenghong Gu, Zhidong Cao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-10-01
Series:Next Energy
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949821X24000565
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author Alexis Pengfei Zhao
Shuangqi Li
Da Xie
Paul Jen-Hwa Hu
Chenye Wu
Faith Xue Fei
Thomas Tongxin Li
Yue Xiang
Chenghong Gu
Zhidong Cao
author_facet Alexis Pengfei Zhao
Shuangqi Li
Da Xie
Paul Jen-Hwa Hu
Chenye Wu
Faith Xue Fei
Thomas Tongxin Li
Yue Xiang
Chenghong Gu
Zhidong Cao
author_sort Alexis Pengfei Zhao
collection DOAJ
description This review studies the cascading impacts of extreme weather events on the Water-Energy-Carbon (WEC) Nexus, with a focus on their combined and sequential effects. It synthesizes research on how droughts, floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, and wildfires each initiate a chain reaction within the interconnected domains of water, energy, and carbon. Key insights include the analysis of drought impacts, like in California, where hydroelectric power's share dropped from 18% to 7%, leading to a 34%increase in emissions from natural gas plants. In Europe, flooding led to operational challenges for power plants, with a projected loss of 0.6–4.6 TWh in energy generation by 2030 due to water temperature rises. The 2023 European heatwave saw Spain's energy demand spike by 20%, driven by increased use of air conditioning, and a corresponding 15–20% rise in carbon emissions in affected countries due to greater reliance on fossil fuels. The review emphasizes the need for integrated resilience strategies, leveraging the provided quantitative data to argue for policies that address these interdependent challenges. It urges for a nuanced understanding of the WEC Nexus's dynamics to inform more effective responses to the rising tide of climate change-induced extreme weather events. Furthermore, this review expands its examination to include cases from developing countries, showcasing how their unique challenges and responses within the WEC Nexus contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of global resilience strategies against extreme weather. This review brings to the forefront the ripple effects of alterations in energy production on water resources and carbon dynamics, underscoring the critical need for a nuanced understanding and integrated approaches in managing the WEC Nexus in the face of extreme weather events.
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spelling doaj-art-d9ec7ff17b1a42dbb0622489723f68d62024-12-08T06:13:46ZengElsevierNext Energy2949-821X2024-10-015100151Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effectsAlexis Pengfei Zhao0Shuangqi Li1Da Xie2Paul Jen-Hwa Hu3Chenye Wu4Faith Xue Fei5Thomas Tongxin Li6Yue Xiang7Chenghong Gu8Zhidong Cao9The State Key Laboratory of Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaSystems Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USADepartment of Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinaDavid Eccles School of Business, the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USASchool of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, ChinaSchool of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, ChinaComputer Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, AustraliaCollege of Electrical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, ChinaDepartment of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UKThe State Key Laboratory of Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; Corresponding author.This review studies the cascading impacts of extreme weather events on the Water-Energy-Carbon (WEC) Nexus, with a focus on their combined and sequential effects. It synthesizes research on how droughts, floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, and wildfires each initiate a chain reaction within the interconnected domains of water, energy, and carbon. Key insights include the analysis of drought impacts, like in California, where hydroelectric power's share dropped from 18% to 7%, leading to a 34%increase in emissions from natural gas plants. In Europe, flooding led to operational challenges for power plants, with a projected loss of 0.6–4.6 TWh in energy generation by 2030 due to water temperature rises. The 2023 European heatwave saw Spain's energy demand spike by 20%, driven by increased use of air conditioning, and a corresponding 15–20% rise in carbon emissions in affected countries due to greater reliance on fossil fuels. The review emphasizes the need for integrated resilience strategies, leveraging the provided quantitative data to argue for policies that address these interdependent challenges. It urges for a nuanced understanding of the WEC Nexus's dynamics to inform more effective responses to the rising tide of climate change-induced extreme weather events. Furthermore, this review expands its examination to include cases from developing countries, showcasing how their unique challenges and responses within the WEC Nexus contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of global resilience strategies against extreme weather. This review brings to the forefront the ripple effects of alterations in energy production on water resources and carbon dynamics, underscoring the critical need for a nuanced understanding and integrated approaches in managing the WEC Nexus in the face of extreme weather events.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949821X24000565Water-energy-carbon nexusExtreme weather eventsCascading impactsIntegrated policy
spellingShingle Alexis Pengfei Zhao
Shuangqi Li
Da Xie
Paul Jen-Hwa Hu
Chenye Wu
Faith Xue Fei
Thomas Tongxin Li
Yue Xiang
Chenghong Gu
Zhidong Cao
Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effects
Next Energy
Water-energy-carbon nexus
Extreme weather events
Cascading impacts
Integrated policy
title Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effects
title_full Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effects
title_fullStr Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effects
title_full_unstemmed Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effects
title_short Extreme events threat water-energy-carbon nexus through cascading effects
title_sort extreme events threat water energy carbon nexus through cascading effects
topic Water-energy-carbon nexus
Extreme weather events
Cascading impacts
Integrated policy
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949821X24000565
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