Comparison of water-energy trajectories of two major regions experiencing water shortage

Energy Implications of Water Management in Cities

Life-cycle energy impacts for adapting an urban water supply system to droughts

This article examines the statistical relationships between ENUS, defined as per capita energy use, and Environmental, Social, and Governance variables, with particular emphasis on the Environmental dimension and its connections with national energy systems. The study investigates whether systematic associations exist between ESG indicators and the cross-country and temporal variation in ENUS as per capita energy use, and to what extent machine learning methods can contribute to the description and interpretation of these relationships in comparison with panel econometric models. The analysis is based on a large World Bank dataset covering approximately 161 countries over the period 2004–2023 and follows a three-step methodological strategy. First, fixed-effects, random-effects, and Weighted Least Squares panel models are estimated to explore the statistical associations between a broad set of ESG variables and ENUS as per capita energy use, while controlling for unobserved country-level heterogeneity. Second, clustering techniques are applied to identify groups of countries with similar joint patterns in multidimensional variables related to energy systems, emissions, climate conditions, and natural resource use. Third, several machine learning models are implemented, with particular attention to the performance of the K-Nearest Neighbors algorithm evaluated through normalized measures of predictive accuracy and goodness of fit. Model interpretability is enhanced using dropout loss and additive explanation methods to assess the contribution of ESG variables to the prediction of ENUS as per capita energy use. Overall, the results reveal a rich and multidimensional structure of relationships between ESG indicators and ENUS expressed as per capita energy use. In particular, the evidence indicates a close association between ENUS and key environmental variables such as emissions intensity, energy intensity as a control variable, and the use of natural resources, together with Social and Governance factors related to development, institutional quality, and economic structure. These findings suggest that cross-country differences in ENUS as per capita energy use correspond to distinct environmental, social, and governance profiles within the ESG framework.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of urbanization on per capita energy consumption and emissions in India. Design/methodology/approach The present study analyses the effects of urbanization on energy consumption patterns by using the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology in India. Time series data from the period of 1960 to 2015 has been considered for the analysis. Variables including Population, GDP per capita, Energy intensity, share of industry in GDP, share of Services in GDP, total energy use and urbanization from World Bank data sources have been used for investigating the relationship between urbanization, affluence and energy use. Findings Energy demand is positively related to affluence (economic growth). Further the results of the analysis also suggest that, as urbanization, GDP and population are bound to increase in the future, consequently resulting in increased carbon dioxide emissions caused by increased energy demand and consumption. Thus, reducing the energy intensity is key to energy security and lower carbon dioxide emissions for India. Research limitations/implications The study will have important policy implications for India’s energy sector transition toward non- conventional, clean energy sources in the wake of growing share of its population residing in urban spaces. Originality/value There are limited number of studies considering the impacts of population density on per capita energy use. So this study also contributes methodologically by establishing per capita energy use as a function of population density and technology (i.e. growth rates of industrial and service sector).

Stochastic convergence in per capita energy use in the EU-15 countries. The role of economic growth

Convergence and persistence in per capita energy use among OECD countries: Revisited using confidence intervals

Energy conservation in the passenger transport sector of cities is an important policy matter. There is a long history of transport energy conservation, dating back to the first global oil crisis in 1973–1974, the importance and significance of which is explained briefly in this paper. Detailed empirical data on private and public passenger transport energy use are provided for Sweden’s ten largest cities in 2015 (Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Linköping, Helsingborg, Uppsala, Jönköping, Örebro, Västerås and Umeå), as well as Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, which is a benchmark small city, well-known globally for its sustainability credentials, including mobility. These data on per capita energy use in private and public transport, as well as consumption rates per vehicle kilometer and passenger kilometer for every mode in each Swedish city and Freiburg, are compared with each other and with comprehensive earlier data on a large sample of US, Australian, Canadian, European and Asian cities. Swedish cities are found to have similar levels of per capita car use and energy use in private transport as those found in other European cities, but in the context of significantly lower densities. Possible reasons for the observed Swedish patterns are explored through detailed data on their land use, public and private transport infrastructure, and service and mobility characteristics. Relative to their comparatively low densities, Swedish cities are found to have healthy levels of public transport provision, relatively good public transport usage and very healthy levels of walking and cycling, all of which help to contribute to their moderate car use and energy use.

L'Inde est un pays de villages : environ 80 % de la population totale vit dans quelque 576 000 villages ! Ces chiffres montrent evidemment l'importance de l'etude de la production et de la consommation d'energie dans le monde rural indien. Ce qui est frappant, c'est que les paysanneries de l'Inde vivent, du point de vue energetique, pratiquement en vase clos. Elles consomment, outre la force de travail de l'homme et des animaux, presque uniquement de l'energie «non commerciale» fournie par le bois de feu, la bouse de vache et les dechets de recolte. Cela represente en tout 146,7 millions de tonnes d'equivalent charbon (M t.e.c.) alors que les energies «commerciales» (charbon, electricite, produits petroliers) ne sont utilisees par les ruraux qu'a concurrence de 9,1 M t.e.c. C'est la situation inverse de celle des villes, ou predominent les energies commerciales (188,1 M te.c. contre 32,7 M t e.c d'energies «traditionnelles»), mais aussi ou la consommation d'energie est beaucoup plus forte (2,03 tonnes e. c. par habitant et par an) qu'a la campagne (0,351 te.c.). ; Le bois de feu provient pour une petite part des forets recensees, qu'elles soient publiques ou privees (9 Mt de bois en 1969-1970), mais surtout de bois coupes un peu partout sur les terres inoccupees, les marges villageoises, etc... (91 Mt). ; La bouse de vache represente des quantites considerables (102,5 Mt, soit 41 Mt e.c.), de meme que les dechets vegetaux (262 millions de tonnes, dont 71 utilises comme combustible). Les principales utilisations de l'energie dans le monde rural indien sont d'abord bien sur l'agriculture proprement dite, qui absorbe notamment de grosses quantites de travail humain et animal, les travaux domestiques et en particulier la cuisine qui reste presque partout, et souvent meme en ville, fondee sur les combustibles traditionnels, les transports, l'eclairage, parfois l'artisanat villageois, etc. ; Le probleme majeur de l'utilisation d'energie dans l'Inde rurale est son inefficacite a tous les niveaux. Aussi le developpement du monde rural en Inde passe-t-il par la mise au point d'une technologie plus rationnelle pour l'emploi des sources d'energie traditionnelles.

Energy use for water provision in cities

Increased wealth and per capita energy use have transformed lives and shaped societies, but energy poverty remains a global challenge. Previous research has shown positive relationships among metrics of health and happiness and economic indices such as income and gross domestic product and between energy use and human development. To our knowledge, however, no comprehensive assessment has examined to what extent energy use may limit national‐level trends in such metrics. We analyze the maximum global performance of nine health, economic, and environmental metrics by country, determining which metrics increase with per capita energy use and which show thresholds or plateaus in maximum performance. Across the dataset, eight of nine metrics, including life expectancy, infant mortality, happiness, food supply, and access to basic sanitation services, improve steeply and then plateau at levels of average primary annual energy consumption between 10 and 75 GJ person−1 computed nationally (five metrics plateau between 10 and 30 GJ person−1). One notable exception is air quality (energy threshold of 125 GJ person−1 across 133 countries). Averaged across metrics, the 10 countries (with at least seven metrics) showing the best performance given their per capita primary energy use are Malta, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Albania, Iceland, Finland, Bangladesh, Norway, Morocco, and Denmark. If distributed equitably, today's average global energy consumption of 79 GJ person−1 could, in principle, allow everyone on Earth to realize 95% or more of maximum performance across all metrics (and assuming no other limiting factors). Dozens of countries have average per capita energy use below this 79 GJ energy sufficiency threshold, highlighting the need to combat energy poverty. Surprisingly, our analysis also suggests that reduced per capita primary energy consumption could in principle occur in many higher energy‐consuming countries with little or no loss in health, happiness, or other outcomes, reducing the need for global energy infrastructure and increasing global equity.

Improving energy performance of the housing stock continues to be an important undertaking in the energy transition of many EU member states. However, tendencies of low-income households generally living in buildings with low energy performance pose a challenge for this transition, and cases of ‘renoviction’ and ‘green gentrification’ are becoming more and more noticed in the scientific community. More so, questions regarding the distributive justice of costs and burdens in the energy transition of the housing stock have been raised. In this paper, we approach this problem from a perspective of energy performance metrics. Although energy performance (kWh/m2, year) is generally lower in buildings inhabited by low-income households, residential density—and thus building utilisation—tends to be higher. By measuring per capita energy use instead of area-normalised energy use, we investigate if a high residential density can offset a low energy performance and change the perception of which buildings are considered energy inefficient and which are not. Results showed that by measuring per capita energy use instead of area-normalised energy use, energy inefficient buildings were found in high-income city centres instead of in low-income suburbs of Swedish cities. Moreover, there has been an unjust distribution of the imposition of the energy transition over the past decade where the residents with the initially lowest per capita energy use have carried a disproportionately high share of the energy savings. This suggests that a change of energy performance metrics could offer an approach for a more socially just and sustainable energy transition of the housing stock.

Do population age groups matter in the energy use of the oil-exporting countries?

CO2 emissions, energy consumption, income and foreign trade: A South African perspective

Increasing evidence has shown that the energy use of ant colonies increases sublinearly with colony size so that large colonies consume less per capita energy than small colonies. It has been postulated that social environment (e.g., in the presence of queen and brood) is critical for the sublinear group energetics, and a few studies of ant workers isolated from queens and brood observed linear relationships between group energetics and size. In this paper, we hypothesize that the sublinear energetics arise from the heterogeneity of activity in ant groups, that is, large groups have relatively more inactive members than small groups. We further hypothesize that the energy use of ant worker groups that are allowed to move freely increases more slowly than the group size even if they are isolated from queen and brood. Previous studies only provided indirect evidence for these hypotheses due to technical difficulties. In this study, we applied the automated behavioral monitoring and respirometry simultaneously on isolated worker groups for long time periods, and analyzed the image with the state-of-the-art algorithms. Our results show that when activity was not confined, large groups had lower per capita energy use, a lower percentage of active members, and lower average walking speed than small groups; while locomotion was confined, however, the per capita energy use was a constant regardless of the group size. The quantitative analysis shows a direct link between variation in group energy use and the activity level of ant workers when isolated from queen and brood.

Water-energy nexus embedded in coal supply chain of a coal-based city, China