Material–Energy–Water–Carbon Nexus and Sustainable Resource Management

Dear Colleagues,

The increase in global population and economic activities over the last century has been accompanied with an increase in the demand for resources, including metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals, biomass, and fossil fuel, and consequently, increases in environmental, economic, and social pressure. The issues of resource sustainability have recently been addressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are either related directly to resources or require the adequate supply of resources to be achieved. Resources are interlinked in several ways, and broadly correlated with climate change. Water is required for fossil fuel extraction, transportation, and processing, biofuel production, and power generation, and energy is required for water extraction, distribution, desalination, and treatment. Both water and energy are linked to materials. Materials are significant for technologies used in both the demand and supply sides of energy, especially those required for the transition to a low-carbon society, either as important parts of these technologies or to enhance their efficiencies, and required for water production, transportation, and treatment. Most materials required for energy system transitions, however, have limited availability and production capacity, and are mostly co-produced with other materials in a limited number of countries, which may shift traditional energy system geopolitics. Restrictions on the supply of those materials may significantly influence technology choices and the realization of scenarios aiming to limit the increase in average global temperature to 2 °C or below. Materials, on the other hand, require energy for their production, and for the operation of their stocks and their demolition, and their production is associated with substantial CO₂ emissions and other environmental impacts. Mining and mineral processing activities also require high-quality water, which could be a challenge due to water scarcity and other competing uses, and which could significantly impact the quality of local water resources. The water–materials nexus also includes the impacts of material production on water quality. Resource nexuses have been analyzed using integrated assessment models, energy models, life cycle assessments, and material flow analyses using top-down approaches, bottom-up approaches, or a combination of both methods, and there are increasing discussions on linking these types of models for the better management of resources.

This Special Issue addresses the complex interactions across these highly interconnected resources, the modelling approaches used in their analyses, and their sustainable management, and welcomes original research articles and reviews across a broad range of topics, including (but not limited to): modelling approaches for the global energy–mineral–water nexus; sustainable resource management under the material–energy–water–carbon nexus and its implications for Sustainable Development Goals; the implications of resource nexuses for climate change and carbon neutrality; the impacts of  material restrictions on energy system transitions; the role of the circular economy; and the geopolitics of energy transitions.

Prof. Dr. Ayman Elshkaki
Guest Editor

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• materials
• energy systems
• water
• climate change
• scenario analysis
• sustainability
• SDGs
• circular economy
• geopolitics
• environmental impact
• technologies