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Sustainable Development Challenges and Future Trends of Water–Energy–Food Nexus

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 9 February 2025 | Viewed by 1314

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Chemistry Department, Institute of Engineering and Basic Science, Hidalgo State Autonomous University, Pachuca 42184, Hidalgo State, Mexico
Interests: global warming; water quality; water management; scenarios
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Forest Engineering Department, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Hidalgo State Autonomous University, Pachuca 42184, Hidalgo State, Mexico
Interests: climate change; protected forest; carbon sequestration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Sustainability calls for contributions of studies focused on the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus strongly related to sustainability, which impacts all aspects of society, whether technological, economical, or social. Sustainability is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles and communications in this interdisciplinary area.

The Water–Energy–Food nexus is a concept that highlights the interconnectedness of these three essential resources and their impact on sustainable development. The history of the nexus can be traced back to the early 2000s, when researchers and policymakers began to recognize the need for a more integrated approach to managing water, energy, and food systems. Sustainable development challenges related to the nexus include an increasing demand for water, energy, and food due to population growth and urbanization, as well as the impacts of climate change on resource availability. These challenges require innovative solutions to ensure long-term sustainability, considering the interdependencies between water, energy, and food resources.

Future trends in the Water–Energy–Food nexus include adopting integrated resource management approaches, such as water-smart agriculture and renewable energy technologies. There is also a growing emphasis on promoting cross-sectoral collaboration and stakeholder engagement to address the complex challenges of the nexus related to interconnectedness and opportunities for sustainable development by adopting holistic approaches to resource management towards achieving a more sustainable and resilient future.

We invite you to submit high-quality, original research articles or reviews to extend the current state of knowledge. This includes technical and social findings and trends. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed by experts in the field.

Dr. Elena Maria Otazo Sánchez
Dr. Ramón Razo Zárate
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • WEF future trends and scenarios
  • evaluating the WEF nexus
  • energy demands related to water and food
  • water demands for energy and food
  • adaptation actions related to the WEF nexus
  • expanding the nexus to other resources
  • binary nexus
  • food security and agriculture
  • sustainable development goals (SDGs)
  • social studies

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

26 pages, 2954 KiB  
Article
Can Green Finance Be a Regulator of “Water–Energy–Food” Synergy? Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta
by Yuchao Wang
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 4931; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16124931 - 8 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 920
Abstract
The synergistic relationship between water, energy, and food faces increasing challenges. Green finance as a policy tool promotes high-quality and efficient development of water, energy, and food subsystems. However, whether it can improve the synergistic relationship of “water–energy–food” (WEF) still needs to be [...] Read more.
The synergistic relationship between water, energy, and food faces increasing challenges. Green finance as a policy tool promotes high-quality and efficient development of water, energy, and food subsystems. However, whether it can improve the synergistic relationship of “water–energy–food” (WEF) still needs to be studied. Using the panel data of 38 prefecture-level cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2013 to 2021, and network DEA and panel regression models, we study the impact of green finance on the level of synergy of “water–energy–food”. The results of the study show that green finance can promote the synergy level of “water–energy–food” in the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, which was first inhibited and then promoted from 2013 to 2021. The impacts of green finance on the efficiency of the three subsystems are also characterized by a “U” shape. However, linear impacts show differences, with green finance improving the efficiency of the water subsystem but not the energy and food subsystems. The implementation of China’s national strategies empowers green finance. The digital strategy, the “dual carbon” strategy, and the new urbanization strategy have increased the effectiveness of green finance in contributing to the level of water–energy–food synergy. Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the promotion effect of green finance mainly exists in non-resource-based cities, non-main grain-producing areas, and non-cities along the South-to-North water diversion route and large cities. Finally, this paper puts forward relevant policy recommendations. Full article
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