Abstract
Water and energy are two indispensable resources in national economic production. Water is circulated among economic sectors through products or services; however, indirect water consumption calculated by the input–output method fails to reflect the implied water utilised during energy consumption. This study combined the ecological input–output method with a complex network model to analyse the embodied energy intensity (EEI) and the implied water intensity of embodied energy (IWIEE), and then constructed and analysed the implied water circulation network (IWCN) of 40 sectors in 2007, 2010, and 2012 in Beijing. The results indicate that the energy consumption of all of the sectors is mainly embodied in the transfer of the external provinces of China, and the variation trend of the implied water intensity of the embodied energy is consistent with the embodied energy intensity. The implied water circulation networks had small-world characteristics, indicating that water-saving effects in key sectors can quickly spread to other sectors. However, this may also result in a corresponding negative impact if water shortages occur in these sectors, due to the same spreading effect. The node strength, eigenvector centrality, key edge, and key indirect water flow path were selected as indicators to measure key sectors. Finally, water-saving measures and suggestions were proposed according to the complex network characteristics.
Highlights
Water is an indispensable natural resource for the development of the national economy.Recently, various industries in many countries and regions around the world have suffered from water shortages [1,2]
The first source is embodied in local consumption; it is the energy consumption of the sectors that is generated by the internal economic circulation occurring in Beijing, and its percentage is illustrated by blue circles in
The results indicate that the energy consumption of all of the sectors is mainly embodied in the transfer of external provinces of China
Summary
Water is an indispensable natural resource for the development of the national economy.Recently, various industries in many countries and regions around the world have suffered from water shortages [1,2]. Rapid economic growth and urbanisation has led to a rapid increase in energy consumption in China [4]; the total consumption increased from 987 million tons of coal equivalent (Mtce) in 1990 to 4360 Mtce in 2016, with an average annual growth rate of 9.7% [5], making China the most energy-consuming country in the world [6]. Both water and energy are important aspects of industrial production. As well as direct water consumption, further consideration of water consumption during energy production has important and practical significance when comprehensively analysing the relationship between water and energy
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