The water impacts of climate change mitigation measures

Wallis, PJ; Ward, MB; Pittock, J; Hussey, K; Bamsey, H; Denis, A; Kenway, SJ; King, CW; Mushtaq, S; Retamal, ML; Spies, BR

The water impacts of climate change mitigation measures

Wallis, PJ Ward, MB Pittock, J Hussey, K Bamsey, H Denis, A Kenway, SJ King, CW Mushtaq, S Retamal, ML

Spies, BR

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Climatic Change, 2014, 125 (2), pp. 209 - 220
Issue Date:: 2014-07-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Wallis, PJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ward, MB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Pittock, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hussey, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bamsey, H	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Denis, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kenway, SJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	King, CW	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mushtaq, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Retamal, ML https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3128-8807	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Spies, BR	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-07-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Climatic Change, 2014, 125 (2), pp. 209 - 220	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0165-0009	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35405
dc.description.abstract	© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. A variety of proposed activities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions will impact on scarce water resources, which are coming under increasing pressure in many countries due to population growth and shifting weather patterns. However, the integrated analysis of water and carbon impacts has been given limited attention in greenhouse mitigation planning. In this Australian case study, we analyse a suite of 74 mitigation measures ranked as highest priority by one influential analysis, and we find that they have highly variable consequences for water quantity. We find: (1) The largest impacts result from land-based sequestration, which has the potential to intercept large quantities of water and reduce catchment yields, estimated to exceed 100 Mm3/MtCO2-e of carbon mitigated (100,000 l per tonne CO2-e). (2) Moderate impacts result from some renewable power options, including solar thermal power with a water cost estimated at nearly 4 Mm3/MtCO2-e. However, the water impacts of solar thermal power facilities could be reduced by designing them to use existing power-related water supplies or to use air or salt-water cooling. (3) Wind power, biogas, solar photovoltaics, energy efficiency and operational improvements to existing power sources can reduce water demand through offsetting the water used to cool thermal power generation, with minor savings estimated at 2 Mm3/MtCO2-e and amounting to nearly 100 Mm3 of water saved in Australia per annum in 2020. This integrated analysis significantly changes the attractiveness of some mitigation options, compared to the case where water impacts are not considered.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Climatic Change	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s10584-014-1156-6	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	en_US
dc.title	The water impacts of climate change mitigation measures	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	125	en_US
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	125	en_US

Abstract:

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. A variety of proposed activities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions will impact on scarce water resources, which are coming under increasing pressure in many countries due to population growth and shifting weather patterns. However, the integrated analysis of water and carbon impacts has been given limited attention in greenhouse mitigation planning. In this Australian case study, we analyse a suite of 74 mitigation measures ranked as highest priority by one influential analysis, and we find that they have highly variable consequences for water quantity. We find: (1) The largest impacts result from land-based sequestration, which has the potential to intercept large quantities of water and reduce catchment yields, estimated to exceed 100 Mm3/MtCO2-e of carbon mitigated (100,000 l per tonne CO2-e). (2) Moderate impacts result from some renewable power options, including solar thermal power with a water cost estimated at nearly 4 Mm3/MtCO2-e. However, the water impacts of solar thermal power facilities could be reduced by designing them to use existing power-related water supplies or to use air or salt-water cooling. (3) Wind power, biogas, solar photovoltaics, energy efficiency and operational improvements to existing power sources can reduce water demand through offsetting the water used to cool thermal power generation, with minor savings estimated at 2 Mm3/MtCO2-e and amounting to nearly 100 Mm3 of water saved in Australia per annum in 2020. This integrated analysis significantly changes the attractiveness of some mitigation options, compared to the case where water impacts are not considered.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35405