Abstract
Abstract. To meet both the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), nations, sectors, counties and cities need to move towards a sustainable energy system in the next couple of decades. Such energy system transformations will impact water resources to varying extents, depending on the transformation strategy and fuel choices. Sweden is considered to be one of the most advanced countries towards meeting the SDGs. This paper explores the geographical origin of and the current water use associated with the supply of energy in the 21 regional counties of Sweden. These energy-related uses of water represent indirect, but still relevant, impacts for water management and the related SDG on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). These indirect water impacts are here quantified and compared to reported quantifications of direct local water use, as well as to reported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as one example of other types of environmental impacts of local energy choices in each county. For each county, an accounting model is set up based on data for the local energy use in year 2010, and the specific geographical origins and water use associated with these locally used energy carriers (fuels, heat and electricity) are further estimated and mapped based on data reported in the literature and open databases. Results show that most of the water use associated with the local Swedish energy use occurs outside of Sweden. Counties with large shares of liquid biofuel exhibit the largest associated indirect water use in regions outside of Sweden. This indirect water use for energy supply does not unambiguously correlate with either the local direct water use or the local GHG emissions, although for the latter, there is a tendency towards an inverse relation. Overall, the results imply that actions for mitigation of climate change by local energy choices may significantly affect water resources elsewhere. Swedish counties are thus important examples of localities with large geographic zones of water influence due to their local energy choices, which may compromise water security and the possibility to meet water-related global goals in other world regions.
Highlights
Increased emphasis on local action for global change in the sustainability discourse encourages efforts of sub-national authorities to prioritize sustainability (Theobald et al, 2015; Wamsler et al, 2014; Xue and Tobias, 2015, among others)
The size of circles in these graphs corresponds to the relative volume of energy-related indirect freshwater use, with the x axis representing reported county emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and the y axis representing county-specific direct local water-use
Västernorrland has the most water-intensive industry in Sweden, while Norrbotten is the county using the most coal of all Swedish counties in 2010, with thereby high associated GHG emission levels
Summary
Increased emphasis on local action for global change in the sustainability discourse encourages efforts of sub-national authorities to prioritize sustainability (Theobald et al, 2015; Wamsler et al, 2014; Xue and Tobias, 2015, among others). International initiatives to promote local sustainability still tend to focus on local production-based resource uses and emissions (Covenant of Mayors, 2017). In the wake of the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the need for integrated and cross-scale coordination of sustainability actions is increasingly acknowledged (Nilsson et al, 2016, among others). Two SDGs with strong interactions are those focused on water (SDG 6) and energy (SDG 7).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
