Analysis of the water‐energy‐carbon nexus for sustainable development of the selected industries

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Pyae Mon Naing - , Asian Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Mukand Babel - , Asian Institute of Technology, United Nations University - Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) (Author)
  • Daniel Karthe - , United Nations University - Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) (Author)
  • Jürgen Stamm - , Chair of Hydraulic Engineering (Author)

Abstract

Industries consume 20% and 50% of global water and energy, contributing 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions. They strive to become more efficient in water and energy usage and reduce carbon emissions. This study analyzed water, energy, and carbon footprints of five manufacturing industries—automobile, cement, chemical, pulp and paper, and steel. Multi-linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between production, water use, energy use, and carbon emission. The study also explored the potential to reduce carbon emissions by reducing water and energy usage. Among the selected industries, pulp and paper, and steel industries have higher water, energy, and carbon footprints. On average, it takes 5.58 m3 of water and 17.11 GJ of energy to produce a ton of paper, and 4.03 m3 of water and 19.52 GJ of energy to produce a ton of steel. The analysis also shows that water and energy use are closely related to production in all industries. Carbon emission is closely related to the production processes in cement, pulp and paper, and steel, and to reduce the emissions, both water and energy usage have to be reduced. The automobile industry has the highest potential to reduce carbon emissions by reducing water and energy uses, followed by steel and cement industries. By reducing 3% of their water and energy uses, automobile and steel industries, on average, have the potential to reduce 11% and 2.6% of their carbon emissions, respectively. The study explored the existing policies and recommendations for industries to achieve sustainable development goals.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-25
Number of pages25
JournalSustainable development
Volume2024
Publication statusPublished - 16 Apr 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-3729-0166/work/158306174
Scopus 85190961112
Mendeley 0737d0f2-7ed0-361f-b80b-fa4a6a67ab9c

Keywords

Keywords

  • sustainable development, manufacturing industries, carbon footprint, environmental policy, water footprint, emission reduction potential, energy footprint, water-energy-carbon nexus