Nexus In China Research Articles

Achieving a low-carbon future through the energy–chemical nexus in China

The paper proposes the concept of sectoral nexus (energy–chemical nexus) in China for achieving its CO2 emission targets.

Acquiring a Beijing hukou: Who Is Eligible and Who Is Successful?

AbstractUsing a localized perspective, this paper explores the gap between the eligibility criteria for a Beijing hukou (household registration) and the reality of successfully acquiring one. By comparing those who are eligible to apply with those who actually succeed in gaining a hukou, it reveals that hukou practices are operated locally to serve the city's development needs. It also reveals huge gaps between migrants, eligible applicants and hukou winners. Most migrants in Beijing are not eligible to apply for a local hukou. However, among those limited applicants who can apply, those with a postgraduate education and who serve the capital's political functions are more likely than others to win a hukou, an advantage not pointed out in government documents. These “hidden” rules are most likely set intentionally by the city so that it can maintain absolute control over hukou transfers; however, at the same time, they frustrate migrants who meet the stated requirements but who are in reality still unlikely to ever acquire a Beijing hukou. These findings open up a novel perspective for exploring the people–city nexus in China during the migration process and highlight the gaps between policy and reality for those who can apply for a Beijing hukou and those who actually win one.

What Induces the Energy-Water Nexus in China's Supply Chains?

Given energy and water scarcity, it is necessary to develop an in-depth understanding of the energy-water nexus in China for its sustainable development. Previous studies have focused on nexus accounting, synergy conservation, and system optimization, but its induction mechanism along the supply chains has not been uncovered. This paper proposes a top-down structural path analysis (SPA) and combines it with an environmental input-output model (EIOM) to identify the critical final demand, consumption sectors, and supply chain paths inducing the energy-water nexus. The results show that the largest final demand of water for energy production (WFE) is capital formation, while the largest final demand of energy for water supply (EFW) is urban consumption. The distribution of WFE at different production layers shows an inverted U shape. Most WFE is indirectly consumed by other sectors, such as construction, through three-step supply chain paths. In contrast, the distribution of EFW shows a L shape, and most EFW is directly consumed by the final demand. In addition, some critical supply chain paths inducing more WFE and EFW are identified. Finally, some policies targeting the energy-water nexus management are proposed, which are conducive to resource conservation and the sustainable supply of energy and water.

Assessment on the features of coupling interaction of the food-energy-water nexus in China

Food, energy and water are critical resources for human well-being. A prerequisite for achieving the sustainable utilization of these resources is how to identify and manage the synergies and trade-offs within the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus. This study considered multiple combinations of dimensions, including economic benefits, social benefits and negative environmental impacts, to assess the performance of China’s FEW nexus system. The efficiency of the FEW nexus from 2005 to 2017 was evaluated in 30 provinces across China using a multiplicative environmental data envelopment analysis (ME-DEA) model. The coupling interaction among the FEW nexus was investigated from the perspectives of the coupling degree and coupling coordination degree. Finally, five efficiency bundles of the FEW nexus were identified using the K-means clustering method. Our results showed that 78% of the provinces with high- and sub-high efficiency were distributed in eastern and central China. Conversely, 86% of the low-efficiency provinces were concentrated in western China. Additionally, the coupling coordination degree of most provinces (63%) generally decreased from 2005 to 2017. These results revealed irreconcilable trade-offs among the subsystems of the FEW nexus. Some valuable suggestions for the sustainable use of resources were proposed according to the characteristics of the five efficiency classes. Class 1 performed well in the water, food and labor dimensions. To balance the FEW nexus, we recommend adjusting energy-related policies. Class 2 showed inefficiency in all dimensions, particularly for labor and social efficiencies. Therefore, the government should provide more employment opportunities and improve social benefits for households. A gap in economic efficiency was found in Class 3. Thus, policies and funding support for the economic dimension are recommended. Class 4 had lower efficiency values than the average, particularly in terms of energy and environmental aspects. The government should pay more attention to pollution treatment. For Class 5, synergies were found in all partial efficiencies; thus, the current development strategies should be adhered. These findings are helpful for developing policies that enhance the sustainability of the FEW nexus.

Water-energy nexus in China’s industrial parks

Industrial parks are main sites for industrial sectors and are critical clients for water and energy management. However, the water-energy nexus at the industrial park-level is still poorly understood. This study established high-resolution profiles of water use and energy consumption and their linkages in Chinese industrial parks for the first time. Based on this inventory, the water use and energy consumption of 209 Chinese national industrial parks were uncovered from a life-cycle perspective. The total water use of these parks accounted for 6% of national industrial water use, while the total energy consumption accounted for 10% of national energy consumption. Surface water and coal played an undeniably dominant role in direct water and energy structures, with a share of 95% and 74%, respectively. The water-energy nexus was then analyzed, and we observed that the indirect water use embodied in the energy sector (29% of the total water use) was much more significant than the indirect energy consumption induced by the water sector (nearly 0% of the total energy consumption). Moreover, water and energy were closely linked and positively correlated in industrial parks; energy-intensive parks generally tended to be water-intensive. Finally, water use and energy consumption in the parks toward 2020 and 2030 were targeted, according to cap and intensity controls highlighted in national strategies. The results indicated that to achieve the governing goals, water and energy should be managed jointly, particularly considering the indirect water use embodied in the energy sector.

Driving factors of water-energy nexus in China

Water and energy are intertwined during their production and consumption processes. Static assessments and simulations of the water-energy nexus among production and consumption are important for determining the mechanism behind the nexus; however, dynamic studies can help determine the most important factors that influence the development of the water-energy nexus, which can provide new insights for shaping energy and water synergetic management. Thus, we probed the driving factors of the water-energy nexus in China through structural decomposition analysis from 1990 to 2014 and decomposed the water consumption of different consumers into six energy related factors: the water-energy nexus coefficient, the energy intensity, the production structure, the consumption volume per capita of final consumers, consumption patterns, and the population. The results showed that the consumption volume, which indicates the consumption levels of different consumers, contributed 156% of the increase of the total energy related water consumption in 2014 compared with that in 1990. Additionally, the energy intensity is the most important driving factor that can reduce the total water consumption of all consumers (household, government, gross fixed capital format, etc.), accounting for −271% of the water consumption in 2014. The consumption patterns, i.e., expenditures on various products in different sectors, also show positive impacts on water consumption conservation for the gross fixed capital format and government, although they can aggravate the water consumption in households. The investigation of the driving forces for different consumers also shows that prosperity in the real estate industry and other related industries has indirectly driven more water flow into gross fixed capital investments and the government, which negatively affects the sustainable water consumption goal in China.

Regional assessment of water-energy nexus in China’s industrial sector: An interactive meta-frontier DEA approach

Abstract Water and energy resource are inextricably linked. Rapid industrialization has led to severe water and energy shortage as well as environmental issues in China. In industrial sector, industrial production and wastewater treatment are two interdependent subsystems. Accordingly, understanding the internal operation performance of the two subsystems as well as assessing their coordination level are of great importance for sustainable water and energy usage. From the perspective of production efficiency, this paper aims to explore industrial water-energy nexus in China by proposing an interactive meta-frontier network DEA approach. The proposed approach is applied to assess the industrial water and energy utilization efficiency in the processes of industrial production and wastewater treatment from 2011 to 2015 in China. The results show that although eastern and central regions have high industrial production efficiency, most regions have relatively low wastewater treatment efficiency. In addition, the nexus degree of eastern region maintains a relatively high level and shows a stable improvement, while the rest two regions perform relatively worse. Comparing the central and western region, the industrial production technology of central region is better yet the wastewater treatment efficiencies of western region are higher, which results in higher nexus degree of western region. Based on the empirical results, policy implications are given in terms of national level, regional level and provincial level, respectively.

The finance-growth nexus in China: a meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Drawing on a unique dataset from 30 studies on the finance-growth nexus in China, our prime objective is to examine the link between financial development and economic growth. After accounting for publication bias and between-study heterogeneity using meta-regression analysis, we find that the publication bias-corrected finance-growth nexus is positive and statistically significant. Interestingly, our findings also show that, when publication bias is corrected, the banking sector development plays a more crucial role in economic growth in China than the stock market development.

Exploring energy-water-land nexus in national supply chains: China 2012

Ensuring energy, water and food security is a core challenge as well as an opportunity to national sustainable development. This paper aims to perform an in-depth analysis on demand-driven energy, water and land resource requirements by Chinese economy 2012 and corresponding energy-water-land nexus relationships in its supply chains by using the input-output analysis and the structural path analysis. Results show that Agriculture and Light industry, mainly related to household consumption, are critical aggregated sectors for water and land requirements, in contrast to Heavy industry and Construction, which are related to investment for energy requirements. 15.41% of the total energy requirement, 44.18% of water and 58.64% of land can be attributed to the top 20 supply chain paths. The energy-water-land nexuses are explored by industrial sector, supply chain path and final demand category from the perspective of embodiment. On the final demand side, Agriculture, Light industry, Construction and Service are critical nexus sectors. Major sectoral nexus paths in terms of energy-land, energy-water, water-land, and energy-water-land nexuses are further identified. The energy-water-land nexus in China's supply chains reflect a strong dependence relationship of energy, water and land resource requirements, which then demonstrate essential intervention points of demand-side resource management.

The income inequality, financial depth and economic growth nexus in China

AbstractIncome inequality has increased in China despite rapid economic growth. Income inequality could impinge on future development, leading to social tension or political instability. Our study investigates the short‐run and long‐run relationship between three important macroeconomic indicators—income inequality, economic growth and financial depth. We utilise a two‐step procedure of ARDL bounds and Granger causality for the analysis. The bounds test indicates the presence of a cointegrating relationship between income inequality, financial depth and economic growth in the long run. In the second step, we utilise the Granger causality approach. Results show a bidirectional causality between financial depth‐growth and a unidirectional causality between inequality‐growth in the short run. In the long run, results reveal that growth and financial depth determine Gini. Our findings provide support for the inequality‐widening effect due to economic growth and higher credit provided to the private sector. We find no evidence of inequality‐narrowing or income‐equalising effect in the long run for the period of study. It is possible that the government's inclusive growth policies which started less than a decade ago have not taken effect for us to capture the inverted U‐shape income equalising effect significantly.

Integrated assessment of resource-energy-environment nexus in China's iron and steel industry

MESSAGEix model are widely used for forecasting long-term energy consumption and emissions, as well as modelling the possible GHGs mitigations. However, because of the complexity of manufacturing sectors, the MESSAGEix model aggregate detailed technology options and thereby miss linkages across sub-sectors, which leads to energy saving potentials are often not very realistic and cannot be used to design specific policies. Here, we integrate Material/Energy/water Flow Analysis (MEWFA) and nexus approach into the MESSAGEix to estimate resource-energy-environment nexus in China's iron and steel industry. Results show that between 2010 and 2050 energy efficiency measures and route shifting of China's steel industry will decrease raw material input by 14%, energy use by 7%, water consumption by 8%, CO2 emissions by 7%, NOx emissions by 9%, and SO2 emissions by 14%, respectively. However, water withdrawal and PM2.5 emissions will increase by 14% and 20%, respectively. The main reason is that water withdrawal and PM2.5 emissions in the process of BF-BOF are over 4 times lower than the process scrap-EAF. Therefore, policy makers should consider nexus effects when design integrated policy to achieve multiple targets. Finally, future directions on enhancing the representation of manufacturing sectors in IAMs are given.

The Underground Economy and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions in China

China aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity by 40–45% compared to its level in 2005 by 2020. The underground economy accounts for a significant proportion of China’s economy, but is not included in official statistics. Therefore, the nexus of CO2 and the underground economy in China is worthy of exploration. To this end, this paper identifies the extent to which the underground economy affects CO2 emissions through the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 1998 to 2016. Many studies have focused on the quantification of the relationship between CO2 emissions and economic development. However, the insights provided by those studies have generally ignored the underground economy. With full consideration of the scale of the underground economy, this research concludes that similar to previous studies, the inversely N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) still holds for the income-CO2 nexus in China. Furthermore, a threshold regression analysis shows that the structural and technological effects are environment-beneficial and drive the EKC downward by their threshold effects. The empirical techniques in this paper can also be applied for similar research on other emerging economies that are confronted with the difficulties of achieving sustainable development.

Coupling and Coordination Degrees of the Core Water⁻Energy⁻Food Nexus in China.

Achieving sustainable development in the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus is gaining global attention. The coupling and coordination degrees are a way to measure sustainable development levels of a complex system. This study assessed the coupling and coordination degrees of the core WEF nexus and identified key factors that affect sustainable development. First, an index system for assessing coupling and coordination degrees of the core WEF nexus was built. Second, the development levels of three subsystems as well as the coupling and coordination degrees of the core WEF nexus in China were calculated. The results showed that from 2007 to 2016, the mean value of the coupling degree was 0.746 (range (0.01, 1)), which was a high level. This proved that the three resources were interdependent. Hence, it was necessary to study their relationship. However, the mean value of the coordination degree was 0.395 (range (0, 1)), which was a low level. This showed that the coordination development of the core WEF nexus in China was low. It is necessary to take some measures to improve the situation. According to the key factors that affect the development levels of water, energy, and food subsystems, the authors put forward some suggestions to improve the coordination development of the WEF system in China.

Electricity consumption and economic growth nexus in China: an autoregressive distributed lag approach.

This study attempts to investigate the relationship among electricity consumption, economic growth, and employment in China. Distinct from most of the previous studies, our empirical research identifies a long-run equilibrium cointegration relationship among the three covariates during the period of 1971-2009 with the recently developed autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The parameters are estimated through a long-run static solution of the estimated ARDL model and short-run dynamic solutions of the error correction model. The estimated models successfully pass diagnostic tests and both the long-run and short-run elasticities are found to be statistically significant. The study also indicates the existence of short-run and long-run causalities from electricity consumption and employment to economic growth. Results of this study show that electricity serves as an important driver of economic growth. Based on these results, several policy prescriptions on energy use and economic development are suggested for China.

Competition or complementarity ? The hydropower and thermal power nexus in China

Although hydropower and thermal power constitute the two pillars of China's power supply, the relationship between them has always been a controversial topic. Based on the panel data of China's provincial level covering the period 1991–2015, this paper tried to reveal the relationship between hydropower and thermal power under the framework of autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model. Taking the panel unit root and panel cointegration tests as the premise, the PMG estimators implemented under the maximum likelihood method provide unbiased results for this paper. Collectively, In the long run, China's hydropower and thermal power complement each other in ensuring a stable power supply, whereas in the short run, they are competitive to a certain extent, even if factors such as precipitation, grid infrastructure and economic conditions are taken into account. The Granger causality test further reveals the one-way relationship between hydropower and thermal power in short run. That is, thermal power is dominant while hydropower is subordinate and passive, giving an empirical interpretation for the specific phenomenon that discarded water from hydropower plants in China during seasonal water-rich period which has been seriously concerned by policymakers and researchers and appeal for impartial dispatching mechanism.

Intertwined impacts of water, energy development, and carbon emissions in China

China is rapidly expanding its alternative and non-conventional energy production capabilities. Although renewable electricity remains the focus, considerable investment has supported construction of coal liquefaction and coal gasification facilities in the desert steppes of north-central China, new coal mines in arid Inner Mongolia, and tight oil and gas extraction in the Ordos to supplement limited domestic supplies of oil and gas. At the same time, China is also facing severe drought and water scarcity in these same regions and in response has expanded various water supply technologies such as desalination and wastewater treatment. Recent government goals and measures for reducing energy and water consumption and increasing efficiency introduced in national policies, however, are poorly or not coordinated, resulting in contradictory objectives for which physical interlinkages are not well understood. This research intends to provide insights for future energy-water nexus management decisions in China, through systematic, comprehensive modeling of the water-energy nexus in China based on comprehensive, bottom-up technology characterizations. Existing studies fail to adequately characterize the details on specific technologies, nor do they comprehensively cover all energy sectors, including energy conversion for non-energy products. We developed integrated assessment (IA) capabilities to allow stakeholders to observe the tradeoffs between various technology options and policy decisions and to test hypotheses/premises in a scenario-driven environment. The results of our analysis underscore the growing interconnection between water and energy in China, the mixed trade-offs from developing low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy and inland nuclear, and the importance of water-energy nexus issues at the regional and local scales. This study lays the groundwork for an integrated resource policy planning process in China and provides an assessment methodology and research directions for future studies of the water-energy nexus. Finally, this study contributes to the water-energy nexus literature by providing systematic data and policy implications for China, where data are typically less accessible, as well as providing references for other regions in the world that are facing similar water and energy use and planning challenges.

Revisit Financial Development, Trade Openness and Economic Growth Nexus in China Using a New Developed Bootstrap ARDL Test

Revisit Financial Development, Trade Openness and Economic Growth Nexus in China Using a New Developed Bootstrap ARDL Test

Spatial variances of water-energy nexus in China and its implications for provincial resource interdependence

China's water and energy sectors are both facing challenges induced by uneven distribution of supply and demand. On top of that, the two sectors are intertwined together, further exaggerating the country's water and energy stresses. This study conducts a quantitative analysis to estimate water for energy and energy for water at the provincial level in China using a bottom-up approach. It also examines the provincial interdependence of resource from a nexus perspective. The results show strong geographical variances. In 2014, the water for energy ranged from the highest of 3483 million m3 in Sichuan to the lowest of 72 million m3 in Hainan. Concerning the energy for water, Jiangsu had the largest with 12.6 TWh, while Tibet ranked the lowest with only 8 TWh. Moreover, the inter-provincial water and energy transfer is causing a vicious cycle of resource over-exploitation. It is urgent to integrate the water and energy management during policymaking and regional planning. Efforts should also be made to improve the provincial self-sufficiency through demand-side conservation and supply diversification.

Identifying critical supply chains: An input-output analysis for Food-Energy-Water Nexus in China

As the most populous country over the world, China has great pressure on food and resources security. In this study, we set the national economy of China as a whole system, and apply supply chains analysis based on the input-output structures, to identify the food-water linkage, food-energy linkage, and the energy-water linkage in the system. The results show that agriculture and animal husbandry contribute most use of resource in supply chains. Animal husbandry sector, agriculture, slaughtering and processing of meat contribute large amount of embodied water consumption. While agriculture, other food sector and animal husbandry sector consumes most embodied primary energy, although the direct primary energy use by animal husbandry sector is not significant. Meanwhile, by importing or exporting resources, international trade impacts on the resources flow through input-output structures. When making polices, the interactions of various resources and international trade should be considered by applying food energy water nexus (FEWN) approach.

China’s roadmap to low-carbon electricity and water: Disentangling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity-water nexus via renewable wind and solar power generation, and carbon capture and storage

Electricity and water form an intricate nexus, in that water is crucial for power generation, and electricity (or other primary forms of energy) is the key enabler for water purification and waste-water treatment. Nonetheless, both energy conversion and water purification result in substantial amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These negative interactions with potential “snowball” effect, can be decoupled via the deployment of renewable power generation, and carbon capture from fossil-fuelled technologies. However, such retrofits pose new challenges as wind and solar energy exhibit intermittent generation patterns. In addition, integrating thermal power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) imposes energy penalties and increases water requirements. In the present research, an optimization framework is developed which enables systematic decision-making for the retrofit of existing power and water infrastructure as well as investment in renewable and green technologies. A key aspect of the applied framework is the simultaneous optimization of design and operational decisions in the presence of uncertainties in the water demand, electricity demand, as well as wind and solar power availability. The proposed methodology is demonstrated for the case of the water-electricity nexus in China, and provides in-depth insights into regional characteristics of low carbon electricity generation, and their implications for water purification and wastewater treatment, demonstrating a roadmap towards sustainable energy and electricity.