Energy Nexus Research

Exploring the complex nexus of energy, water, carbon, and integrated natural and social systems.

Overview

Understanding how energy nexus systems interact and influence each other within the broader context of resource management, sustainable development, climate change, and human well-being. This nexus approach recognizes that decisions in one domain (e.g., energy production) have cascading effects on others (e.g., water resources, carbon emissions, air pollution, human health, and social systems).

Featured publications

Regional disparities in health and employment outcomes of China’s transition to a low-carbon electricity system

Environmental Research: Energy

Although disparities in health impacts across provinces narrow as fossil fuels phase out, disparities in labor compensation widen with wealthier East Coast provinces gaining…

Apr 22, 2024

Accelerating China’s power sector decarbonization can save lives: integrating public health goals into power sector planning decisions

Environmental Research Letters

The value of climate and health benefits would exceed the additional costs, leading to $824 billion net benefits from 2021 to 2050.

Sep 25, 2023

Global assessment of the carbon–water tradeoff of dry cooling for thermal power generation

Nature Water

We build a global unit-level framework to investigate the CO2 emission and energy penalty due to the deployment of dry cooling.

Aug 7, 2023

Long-term transition of China’s power sector under carbon neutrality target and water withdrawal constraint

Journal of Cleaner Production

Low cost renewables reduced the need for CCS by 80%, and water constraints nearly squeeze CCS out.

Dec 20, 2021

Assessing the impacts of nuclear desalination and geoengineering to address China’s water shortages

Desalination

We compare both coal and nuclear desalination with the currently planned South–North Water Transfer Mega-Project and show that, while the short-run cost of water diversion…

Mar 16, 2015

Featured projects

The carbon mitigation, air quality, and human health benefits achieved by global solar PV supply chains

ClimateWorks Foundation

The goal of this project is to investigate the air quality and human health benefits achieved by global solar PV supply chains.