Development, water and energy in the context of climate change in North Africa

Abstract

This article adopts a holistic approach to explore and quantify interactions between water and energy in the context of climate change in North Africa. We bring together results from different research areas to describe the physical interactions and to shortly discuss governance issues in the sectors of water and energy. We highlight the fact that water demand management options combined with a sustainable energy model is a priority action to answer the challenge of climate change adaptation in North African countries. We use the IPAT formula approach to compute scenarios for quantifying the magnitudes of advantages to expect from water demand side management actions coupled with energy efficiency options. According to our results, water demand management is a very appropriate adaptation option with significant benefits in terms of water saving, energy use and energy bill. Overall, in 2050, the water saved thanks to demand management actions could be around 68 billion of cubic meters, which is the magnitude of the total water demand of Egypt in 2005. Depending on the scenario and assumptions, the expected cumulated benefit in terms of energy bill over the period 2005–2025 could range between 30 and 48 billion US Dollar, which is comparable to the GDP of Tunisia in 2011 (46 billion US Dollar). Nevertheless, up to 2050, regardless the scenario, additional options will be needed to cover the water deficit of the region. This leads us to consider virtual water as an additional option to reduce the local water demand. Finally, we discuss the political implications and the reforms to be implemented for integrating water and energy demand side policies in North Africa.