This report analyzes the trade-off between the two sectors in the context of the People's Republic of China and proposes recommendations to ensure that the choices made are sustainable in the long run. Water and energy are both valuable resources and indispensable for human society and economic development. By nature, water and energy are interlinked. Water plays a critical role in the generation of electricity for cooling of thermal power plants and in hydropower, as well as in the production of fossil fuels such as coal; energy is required to treat, distribute, and for wastewater treatment. Choices made in either of the sectors may have unintended and often negative implications on the other sector.

Water and energy are both valuable resources and indispensable for human society and economic development. By nature, water and energy are interlinked. Water plays a critical role in the generation of electricity for cooling of thermal power plants and in hydropower, as well as in the production of fossil fuels such as coal; energy is required to treat, distribute, and for wastewater treatment. Choices made in either of the sectors may have unintended and often negative implications on the other sector. This report analyzes the trade-off between the two sectors in the context of the People's republic of China and proposes recommendations to ensure that the choices made are sustainable in the long run.

China’s economic development relies heavily on its water and energy endowment. The country’s rapid economic growth in the past decades has caused severe resource shortages and environmental degradations. Additionally, the uneven distribution of water and energy resources at the provincial level further exaggerated the supply-demand conflict. As a response, massive infrastructures were constructed to mitigate the geographical mismatch of water and energy resources. However, the deepened water and energy crises have revealed the incompetence of a ‘hard path’ in solving these problems. There is an urgent need to search for alternative strategies to achieve long-term water and energy sustainability. ☐ In this study, an emerging tool of the water-energy nexus is adopted to reveal the complex issues underneath China’s water and energy systems. If utilized properly, the synergy effect of the water-energy nexus can provide an opportunity to guide China going through this transitional period. Therefore, this dissertation approaches the water and energy challenges in China from the nexus perspective. Using both quantitative and qualitatively analyses, this study explores the nexus-oriented strategy for water and energy management in China. ☐ The results suggest that China’s water and energy sectors are highly related and there exist huge regional variances at the provincial level. Moreover, the intensive inter-provincial water and energy transfer is exaggerating the resource overexploitation and has caused unequal invasion of external resources. Consequently, some provinces are at risk of facing water-related energy problems and energy-induced water shortages simultaneously, while others sacrifice their fragile water systems to bear the burden of the national energy security. Overall, these water-energy trade-offs and inter-provincial interdependence in China call for a shift away from the supply-driven approaches. Alternatively, the government can incorporate the water-energy nexus into policy making to coordinate its water-energy development. For enhanced water-energy compatibilities, efforts should also be made to improve the provincial self-sufficiency through demand-side conservation and supply diversification. ☐ Furthermore, this study encourages policy integration by investigating the institutional capacities. It also identifies the positive or negative synergies existing within the country’s future development plans. Based on the policy review, this dissertation gives insight into what strategies the government can adopt to achieve secure and reliable water and energy systems while staying within the local carrying capacity. In addition, this study outlines practical pathways for nexus-oriented management from the perspectives of different stakeholders. Valuable implementation experiences were drawn from five international cases.

The water–food–energy nexus is emerging as a critical issue in Asia and the Pacific. It is clear that solutions must be found to assure water security, thereby eliminating the immediate---and increasing---risk to food security, energy security, and economic growth and stability: water must be recognized as an economic as well as a social good. Governments need to be encouraged to think differently about water, take the longer-term view, and be mindful of the strategic and economic value of this limited resource. This publication is the result of a scoping study initiated by the Asian Development Bank to better understand the issues associated with the water–food–energy nexus in Asia and the Pacific. It provides high-level guidance on the choices available to address the region's water security issues.

This book explores water resources management issues in China and possible solutions. It analyzes a wide range of general and specific topics, providing case studies and a balanced review of the past and present situation as well as future developments. The book begins with a general introduction and an overview of hydrology, water resources, and development issues in China. It then presents a management framework, including a management system, management institutions, river basin management, water pricing, water rights, and groundwater management, and discusses its implementation, covering water resources allocation and regulation in the Yellow River, integrated water affair management reforms, and agricultural water management in northern China. The last section focuses on the current reforms and hot topics, with strong emphasis on stringent water resource strategies applied to the river and lake principle system, recycled water use and water resources asset management, as well as climate change impacts, and concludes with a summary of the many changes in the water sector in China and a look at the road ahead and the areas that still need to be reformed.

Water is essential for human life and at the centre of political, economic, and socio-cultural development. This Routledge Handbook of Water and Development offers a systematic, wide-ranging, and state-of-the-art guide to the diverse links between water and development across the globe. It is organized into four parts: Part I explores the most significant theories and approaches to the relationship between water and development. Part II consists of carefully selected in-depth case studies, revealing how water utilization and management are deeply intertwined with historical development paths and economic and socio-cultural structures. Part III analyses the role of governance in the management of water and development. Part IV covers the most urgent themes and issues pertaining to water and development in the contemporary world, ranging from climate change and water stress to agriculture and migration. The 32 chapters by leading experts are meant to stimulate researchers and students in a wide range of disciplines in the social and natural sciences, including Geography, Environmental Studies, Development Studies, and Political Science. The Handbook will also be of great value to policymakers and practitioners.

This book covers critical debates on policies, markets and emerging issues that shape renewable energy transition in the Asian region, which is fast becoming an epicenter of the global energy consumption. The chapters focus on domestic policies, geopolitics, technology landscape and governance structure pertaining to the development of renewable energy in different Asian countries ranging from China to the Middle East. The book presents an insightful view of the pace and magnitude of the energy transition. It presents critical steps countries are taking to promote affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) as well as strengthening climate mitigation actions (SDG 13). In addition, this book introduces the concept of co-innovation---a collaborative and iterative approach to jointly innovate, manufacture and scale up low-carbon technologies---and its role in promoting energy transition in Asia. Chapter 8 (Renewable energy deployment to stimulate energy transition in the Gulf Cooperation Council) is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.