Water-Energy-Carbon Nexus
Water is a fundamental and vital need for human civilization. Adequate amount of clean water is not only essential for the health and wellbeing of the human beings, but it is also imperative for agriculture, industry and energy production.
India is fortunate to be bestowed with enough water resources, estimated to be 1920 km3. Unfortunately, these are unevenly distributed. Further, the exploding population, coupled with industrialisation and urbanisation has accentuated the problem of the availability of water, leading to water scarcity in many regions of the country.
It is reported that the per capita availability of water in India has drastically reduced from 6,000 m3 in 1947 to 1900 m3 in 2000. The same is estimated to go down to 1140 m3 by 2050. It is projected that extreme levels of water shortage may be experienced in the perpetually water-starved regions of India such as Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Marathwada, Vidharbha, parts of Andhra Pradesh, etc. The Energy Research Institute (TERI) has estimated that even in water-rich areas like the Gangetic plains the water shortfall could reach to around 25 percent by 2050.
The spectre of flood-drought syndrome is haunting in India since long. It is not uncommon to witness the fury of floods in certain parts of the country when some other parts are simultaneously reeling under severe drought. The Climate Change phenomenon has further aggravated the issue and created more uncertainty in respect of the frequency, intensity, seasonality and the amount of rainfall. Climate change is also likely to change the patterns of energy demand, with greater demand loads due to temperature extremes.
According to the International Energy Agency’s India Energy Outlook report, the energy use in India has doubled during 2000-21 with nearly 80 percent of the demand still being met by coal, oil and biomass. With the rising population, and expanding economy, India is bound to witness steep increase in its energy demand. The IEA report postulates that to meet the growth in the electricity demand over the next two decades, India will need to add a power system the size of the European Union to what it has now! Although some impressive advancement have been made in increasing the renewable energy potential in the country, coal is going to remain a major source of energy for the Indian population.
According to World Resource Institute’s (WRI’s) Aqueduct Projected Water Stress Rankings, water stress — the imbalance between water demand and supply — is worsening in India. Based on WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, large stretches of India may fall into high to very high water stress zones by 2030. (See Fig 1). WRI Projections also show that more than two-thirds of the country’s thermal power plants will face high water stress by 2030. The report warns that the growing water challenges faced by India may threaten the country’s energy security. This underlines the nexus between water and energy and hence between water and carbon emissions.
Successful management of the water-energy nexus is thus crucial for the climate-friendly and sustainable growth of India in the near future. Science and technology can provide innovative tools to successfully manage the water related challenges.
Fig 1 India’s projected water stress 2030 (Source: WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas)