Climate change and CCS increase the water vulnerability of China's thermoelectric power fleet

Large numbers of China's thermal power plants are in water-stressed regions. Changes in the availability of water resources due to climate change may impact the vulnerability of regional and national electricity generation. Here we explore this vulnerability for coal-fired power units (CPUs) as the generation-type most exposed to climate risk....

Biodiversity Loss from Freshwater Use for China’s Electricity Generation

Dietary change in high-income nations alone can lead to substantial double climate dividend

Shared and environmentally just responsibility for global biodiversity loss

Global Human Consumption Threatens Key Biodiversity Areas

Key biodiversity areas (KBAs) are critical regions for preserving global biodiversity. KBAs are identified by their importance to biodiversity rather than their legal status. As such, KBAs are often under pressure from human activities. KBAs can encompass many different land-use types (e.g., cropland, pastures) and land-use intensities. Here, we...

Negative-emissions technology portfolios to meet the 1.5 °C target

Our carbon-intensive economy has led to an average temperature rise of 1 ◦C since pre-industrial times. As a consequence, the world has seen increasing droughts, significant shrinking of the polar ice caps, and steady sealevel rise. To stall these issues’ worsening further, we must limit global warming to 1.5 ◦C. In addition to the economy’s...

The energy-water nexus of China's interprovincial and seasonal electric power transmission

Modern energy systems use large amounts of water for electric power production. This has important impacts on future water management and energy system planning decisions. In this study, we quantify the physical water use of power production and virtual water transfer via power transmission between Chinese provinces using the information on 5408...

China's potential SO2 emissions from coal by 2050

Coal is the dominant emitter of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) in some countries, comprising 92% of total emissions in China. Mitigation of these emissions can be driven by a number of factors, such as energy-efficiency improvements, installation of scrubbers, and use of renewable energy. This study evaluates the historical reduction of overall SO2...

Linking global crop and livestock consumption to local production hotspots

International trade plays a critical role in global food security, with global consumption having highly localized environmental impacts. It has been difficult to gain insights into these effects due to the diversity of food production, and complexity of supply chains in international trade. We present a Spatially-explicit Multi-Regional Input...

BRIC and MINT countries' environmental impacts rising despite alleviative consumption patterns

The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey) shifted the economic weight from developed to emerging countries. They will continue to grow rapidly by population and gross domestic product (GDP), which could also imply environmental changes. We use the environmentally extended multi-regional input...

Water use of electricity technologies: A global meta-analysis

Understanding the water use of power production is an important step to both a sustainable energy transition and an improved understanding of water conservation measures. However, there are large differences across the literature that currently present barriers to decision making. Here, the compiled inventory of the blue water use of power...

Environmental responsibility for sulfur dioxide emissions and associated biodiversity loss across Chinese provinces

Recent years have witnessed a growing volume in Chinese interregional trade, along with the increasing disparities in environmental pressures. This has prompted an increased attention on where the responsibilities for environmental impacts should be placed. In this paper, we quantify the environmental responsibility of SO2 emissions and...