In the previous lesson we explored the interconnected and interdependent nature of energy, water and food. We learned about how our lifestyle decisions regarding energy and food impact our overall water footprint. We also touched on how water is needed for energy production and energy is needed to extract, clean and distribute drinking water. In this lesson, we will explore in more detail how water-related impacts of climate change will affect the energy transition. As our freshwater resources face greater challenges as the result of climate change (not enough water when we need it, too much when we don’t, or water of poor quality), policy makers will need to balance the trade-offs between cleaner energy provision, expanding water services to the developing world, greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable supplies of freshwater. While the transition to EVs, in particular, will help address one aspect of our climate crisis, it may inadvertently place undue stress on our dwindling readily available freshwater supplies. Systems thinking is a concept that will help policy makers and other decision makers work through the complexities of these trade-offs in the face of climate change.
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
Read | Lesson 13 content and all assigned readings |
---|---|
Participate | Graded Discussion |
Complete | Briefing Memo |
If you have questions, please feel free to post them to the Questions about EGEE 401 Discussion forum in Canvas. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you, too, are able to help a classmate.
It has been said that “if climate change is a shark, then water is its teeth.” In other words, how most of us will feel the impacts of a changing climate will occur through our relationship with water. Due to the warming of the atmosphere caused by manmade greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since the industrial revolution, more water vapor is now held. According to NASA, that water vapor then amplifies the effects of climate change leading to more frequent and intense, water-related events such as floods, droughts and extreme storms.
Perhaps the most immediate threat to water availability from climate change is the impact of drought, both in areas historically prone to it and in new locations where extreme weather events are suddenly occurring with more frequency. According to the UN, approximately 2 billion people today do not have safe access to drinking water and by 2030 global freshwater demand will exceed supply by 40% (according to the World Economic Forum). Complicating the picture further is that studies estimate that nearly 80% of wastewater is returned to the environment untreated.
While we briefly touched on the energy-water nexus in the previous lesson, let’s now build on that initial understanding. When it comes to our drinking water, the monthly bill we pay is almost entirely a reflection of the amount of embedded energy per gallon of water. Extracting water from surface or groundwater supplies requires energy (pumps, wells, distribution system); cleaning water to potable standards requires energy (turbines for removing impurities, reverse osmosis); and then finally distributing clean drinking water to residents requires energy (pumping water through a municipal system).
On the wastewater side of the equation, significant energy resources are needed to clean wastewater before it is released into the environment; and wastewater utilities emit significant amounts of methane from anaerobic digesters that help breakdown organic matter in waste. In fact, the World Economic Forum estimates that water and wastewater utilities account for 5% of GHG emissions globally; but additional research estimates that could increase to 10% as the global gap on providing sanitation services narrows (World Economic Forum: How tackling wastewater can help corporations achieve climate goals [1]).
Thus, in order to meet the drinking water and wastewater demands of a growing population globally where freshwater resources are under greater stress (UN SDG 6), more water utilities will need to be built, requiring more energy resources and resulting in GHG emissions that could possibly work at odds with global efforts to reduce such emissions (UN SDG 7). From the water footprint exercise in Lesson 12, we learned first-hand how our lifestyle choices can impact our water footprint. As the availability of freshwater supplies is stressed, and in some cases locally threatened, this will place pressure in those regions or sectors that rely on water resources like the energy sector and the food and beverage sector.
This NASA article explains “Steamy Relationships: How Atmospheric Water Vapor Amplifies Earth's Greenhouse Effect [2].”
This United Nations site details the significance of “Water- at the center of the climate crisis. [3]”
This United Nations site focuses our attention on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals [4].
World Economic Forum. How tackling wastewater can help corporations achieve climate goals. Retrieved Dec. 8, 2023 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/wastewater-corporations-climate-g... [5]..
The energy transition within the overall context of sustainable development would benefit strategically if policy makers and other decision makers regularly employed systems thinking. The UN has defined systems thinking within the context of meeting the SDGs and is particularly instructive to our short discussion on potential energy transition water-related impacts:
System Thinking is a way of approaching complex issues by acknowledging them as an interlinked network of subsystems and elements…Taking a Systems Thinking approach in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development allows practitioners to visualize how improvement in one area of the system can either positively or adversely affect another area of the system, and how to turn trade-offs into opportunities for the benefit of the entire system while reducing the possibility of producing unintended responses and consequences. The systems framework allows policymakers and stakeholders to shift from a conventional, siloed and linear policy and decision-making approach towards integrated planning scenarios (UN ESCAP: System Thinking [6]).
Reducing GHG emissions and decarbonizing aspects of the global economy is a priority to ensure we meet global climate goals and reduce the negative climatic impacts on future generations and the environment. Applying systems thinking can help us understand how different policy outcomes we seek can impact other parts of the system (energy accessibility vs. sustainability), or how that system can then interact and change directions vis-à-vis other systems (energy provision vs. clean water). Before this gets too esoteric, let’s apply systems thinking to better understanding potential water-related impacts of the energy transition.
One aspect of the energy transition that could (and in some cases already is) have a negative impact on water outcomes and is still being studied and assessed, is the move to electric vehicles (EVs). As we learned from using Energy Outlooks earlier in the semester, ICE vehicles will still be dominant in the marketplace for some years to come. That being said, all US automotive manufacturers are producing EVs and several, including Ford and GM, have committed to moving toward an all EV fleet. That means the very nature of the automotive supply chain will change and adjust to source the materials that are unique to EV manufacture (i.e., the need for lithium ion batteries). For instance, as the automotive industry transitions to EV production, McKinsey & Co. predict a nearly 30% annual growth rate for lithium-ion batteries between now and 2030 (McKinsey & Company, Battery 2030: Resilient, sustainable, and circular [7]). Further, the IEA estimates that over 50% of lithium production is concentrated in areas of high water stress in countries like Argentina, Bolivia and Chile (IEA, Reducing the impact of extractive industries on groundwater resources [8]). With recent discoveries of extensive lithium reserves in the US, threats to groundwater and wetlands as a result of the extraction process could have significant negative impacts on local communities and drinking water sources. More study is needed on the water impacts within the EV metals supply chain (including nickel and cobalt). Similarly, assessing the renewable energy supply chain for water-related impacts is still in the earliest stages. And while moving away from fossil fuel extraction and use will certainly have an overall positive impact on water resources, metals and mineral extraction associated with components for wind and solar manufacturing may still have extreme local impacts in areas already facing water stress.
This IEA article focuses our attention on the need for “Reducing the impact of extractive industries on groundwater resources [8].”
This S&P article explains how “CO2 reduction meets water-use tension in (the) hunt for lithium [9].” Additionally it provides detailed, related maps depicting the conundrum we face.
A Nature Conservancy PDF titled “Lithium: a key element in the clean energy transition [10]” illustrates how lithium is extracted and suggestions for reducing environmental impacts from the extraction process.
In this lesson we explored more deeply the energy-water nexus as well as water impacts from climate change and how that could play out during the energy transition. In this assignment, you will draft a briefing memo discussing possible trade-offs between water and climate goals as the energy transition progresses.
This assignment will help you apply systems thinking by practicing synthesizing your knowledge and presenting a concise written summary of key trade-offs and potential outcomes relating to the energy transition’s water-related impacts.
For this lesson’s assignment, imagine you are an expert providing direct consultation to the UN secretariat for the SDGs about potential negative impacts on freshwater resources as a result of some aspect of the energy transition covered in this lesson. In 250 words or less (plus or minus 10% on word count), you are to outline the issue (e.g., GHG emissions impacts from building new wastewater treatment plants); identify the relevant UN SDG goal(s) associated with the issue; and then describe in some detail using bulleted points as needed the potential pros and cons of your policy choice with regard to freshwater resources and on global GHG emissions trends (e.g., recommendation to build significantly more wastewater treatment facilities). When describing the water impacts be sure to reference at least two of the four factors of energy provision.
Links
[1] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/wastewater-corporations-climate-goals/#:~:text=Water%20and%20wastewater%20utilities%20account,is%20caused%20by%20wastewater%20treatment.
[2] https://climate.nasa.gov/explore/ask-nasa-climate/3143/steamy-relationships-how-atmospheric-water-vapor-amplifies-earths-greenhouse-effect/#:~:text=Increased%20water%20vapor%20in%20the,caused%20by%20other%20greenhouse%20gases.&text=It%20works%20like%20this%3A%20As,both%20water%20and%20land%20areas
[3] https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/water?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy6CG4dP4gQMVOvSUCR03AQXCEAAYASAAEgKu8vD_BwE
[4] https://sdgs.un.org/goals
[5] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/wastewater-corporations-climate-goals/#:~:text=Water%20and%20wastewater%20utilities%20account,is%20caused%20by%20wastewater%20treatment
[6] https://sdghelpdesk.unescap.org/sustainability-outlook-tool
[7] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/battery-2030-resilient-sustainable-and-circular
[8] https://www.iea.org/commentaries/reducing-the-impact-of-extractive-industries-on-groundwater-resources
[9] https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/co2-reduction-meets-water-use-tension-in-hunt-for-lithium-71742617
[10] https://www.scienceforconservation.org/assets/products/Lithium_2-pager_FINAL.pdf