Open AccessThe effects of climate change mitigation strategies on the energy system of Africa and its associated water footprint
Author(s) -
Ioannis Pappis,
Vignesh Sridharan,
Mark Howells,
Hrvoje Medarac,
Ioannis Kougias,
Rocío González Sánchez,
Abhishek Shivakumar,
Will Usher
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ac5ede
Subject(s) - baseline (sea) , carbon footprint , climate change , environmental science , renewable energy , scenario analysis , natural resource economics , representative concentration pathways , population , water resources , energy consumption , water energy nexus , water use , greenhouse gas , environmental resource management , business , climate model , engineering , economics , ecology , oceanography , demography , sociology , nexus (standard) , biology , embedded system , geology , finance , electrical engineering
Africa’s economic and population growth prospects are likely to increase energy and water demands. This quantitative study shows that energy decarbonisation pathways reduce water withdrawals (WWs) and water consumption (WC) relative to the baseline scenario. However, the more aggressive decarbonisation pathway (1.5 °C) leads to higher overall WWs than the 2.0 °C scenario but lower WC levels by 2065. By 2065, investments in low-carbon energy infrastructure increase annual WWs from 1% (52 bcm) in the 2.0 °C to 2% (85 bcm) in the 1.5 °C scenarios of total renewable water resources in Africa compared to 3% (159 bcm) in the baseline scenario with lower final energy demands in the mitigation scenarios. WC decreases from 1.2 bcm in the 2.0 °C to 1 bcm in the 1.5 °C scenario, compared to 2.2 bcm in the baseline scenario by 2065, due to the lower water intensity of the low-carbon energy systems. To meet the 1.5 °C pathway, the energy sector requires a higher WW than the 2.0 °C scenario, both in total and per unit of final energy. Overall, these findings demonstrate the crucial role of integrated water-energy planning, and the need for joined-up carbon policy and water resources management for the continent to achieve climate-compatible growth.