Prof. Zou Ji on The Water-Energy Nexus
By Professor Zou Ji 31 January, 2011
Prof. Zou Ji and his Water Team explain why energy and water constraints are critical for China’s economy.
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Energy and water constraints have emerged as critical sustainability issues for China’s economy – particularly if the country is to continue to see significant GDP growth and provide the estimated 10 million jobs needed annually. The World Bank has said that water accounts for a negative drag on GDP of 2.3 percent. China Water Risk spoke recently with Professor Zou Ji, China Country Director for the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the WRI China Water Team (CWT) about the water-energy nexus.
CWR: What do you see as the essential connections between water and energy?
CWT: Energy and water are interlinked. Many power generation technologies (i) consume freshwater (e.g., nuclear and coal power stations evaporate water during the cooling process), (ii) change freshwater temperature or flows (e.g., hydropower dams adjust the timing and amount of water flows), and (iii) produce large quantities of wastewater.
Many measures for addressing freshwater scarcity such as water pumping, long-distance piping, and desalinization rely upon energy for their operation. Depending on the fuel used, this energy consumption can contribute to climate change—which in turn can exacerbate freshwater scarcity—and put additional pressure on the country’s energy security.
National energy policies often do not fully consider or reflect their implications on freshwater consumption. Likewise, policies for improving freshwater availability often do not consider their implications on energy use (and the associated greenhouse gas emissions). Failure to incorporate both the water and climate implications of energy and water policy can lead to approaches that work at cross purposes or that lead to unsustainable outcomes (e.g., energy investments that exacerbate freshwater scarcity in selected watersheds).
PZJ: Another context is urban water or water treatment and supply. There are strong energy implications in terms of transporting and treating water for consumption, especially in the context of rapid urbanization. Increasing population in cities means increasing demand for water supply and for wastewater treatment. This means increasing energy demand. The two are closely linked.
CWR: The government will soon announce its 12th 5-year plan. What are the water targets contained therein?
CWT: The Chinese government will announce its 12th Five Year Plan in March 2011. To date the CPC Central Committee has issued a proposal on formulating the plan, which contains guidance, but no specific targets. Those will most likely not be announced until March. However, we have indications on the policy direction.
China sets water targets every five years in the same way that it sets energy intensity targets. The 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010) set binding targets to reduce water consumption per unit of industrial added value1 by 30 percent and to reduce water pollutant discharge measured as “COD” (Chemical Oxygen Demand) by 10 percent. In addition, China set an indicative target to increase irrigation efficiency. For the coming 12th Five Year Plan, a new indicator, a load limit for ammonia nitrogen, will be added as a mandatory water quality target.
Under the framework of the national Five Year Plan, each ministry will develop a sectoral plan with detailed goals and supporting actions. Regarding water resources, the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), together with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (mohurd), are currently working on the 12th Five Year Plan for Building a Water Saving Society. Major water-dependent industries, including thermoelectric, petrochemical, and iron and steel, will be required to achieve higher water efficiency levels. We do not know yet what the targets will be, but in the previous plan, the power sector was required to improve water efficiency by 10 percen