Water-energy-food nexus of sugarcane ethanol production in the state of Goiás, Brazil : an analysis with regional input-output matrix

Concerns about impacts of biomass growth for biofuel production emphasize the importance of planning energy crops expansion considering water, energy and land resources, as well as greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This study analyses the impacts of first-generation sugarcane ethanol expansion in the Paranaíba basin (Goiás State), focusing on how future demand for ethanol could affect socio-economic, energy and environmental indicators in the region. An economic-ecological Input-Output (IO) framework was applied to develop a water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) analysis on ethanol production. Results show that sugarcane expansion would apparently cause little significant impacts on land and water availability in the Paranaíba basin, when analysing only the direct impacts of this expansion in the region. The WEFN analysis is a valuable tool on guiding the sustainable management of natural resources considering water, energy, land use and GHG emissions as goals to the same policy. In particular, the hybrid extended IO-WEFN framework is useful to design effective biofuel policies, collectively addressing impacts on environmental, social and economic spheres, in a local or broader context.O crescimento da produção de biocombustíveis enfatiza a importância do planejamento na expansão de culturas energéticas, considerando os recursos água, energia e terra, além de emissões de gases do efeito estufa (GEE). O presente estudo analisa os impactos da expansão do etanol de cana-de-açúcar na bacia do Paranaíba (estado de Goiás), visando entender se a demanda futura por etanol pode afetar indicadores socioeconômicos, ambientais e energéticos na região. Um modelo econômico-ecológico de Insumo-Produto (IP) foi aplicado para avaliar o nexo águaenergia-alimentos (NAEA) na produção de etanol. Resultados mostram que a expansão da cana-de-açúcar aparentemente causaria um impacto pouco significativo na disponibilidade de água e terras na bacia do Paranaíba, quando considerados apenas os efeitos diretos dessa expansão na região. A análise do NAEA é uma ferramenta valiosa para orientar a gestão sustentável de recursos naturais, considerando uso da água, terra e energia e emissões de GEE como metas de uma mesma política. Portanto, a abordagem híbrida NAEA-IP é útil no desenvolvimento de políticas para biocombustíveis, por coletivamente abordar impactos ambientais, sociais e econômicos, em um contexto local ou mais amplo

Water–Energy–Food Nexus in Sugarcane Ethanol Production in the State of Goiás, Brazil: A Regional Input-Output Analysis

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Concerns about the impact of biomass growth for biofuel production emphasise the importance of planning the expansion in energy crops, taking into consideration water, energy and land resources, as well as greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This research analyses the impacts of first-generation sugarcane ethanol expansion in the Paranaíba basin (Goiás State, Brazil), focusing on how future demand for ethanol could affect the socioeconomic, energy and environmental outcomes in the region. An economic-ecological input-output (IO) framework was applied to develop a water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) analysis on ethanol production. A Leontief IO price framework was also applied to analyse the economic and environmental impacts of changes in factor input prices, resulting from the imposition of a US$10 carbon tax. The results show that sugarcane expansion would apparently have little significant direct impact on land and water availability in the Paranaíba basin, when price change effects (through a carbon tax policy) are not taken into account. Conversely, however, when a US$10 carbon tax policy is applied, the negative environmental impact (of economic changes) of expanding sugarcane crops in Goiás would be 5-fold higher as compared with the non-carbon pricing scenarios; thereby significantly changing the big picture of promoting biofuels expansion in the state when physical and economic models are jointly applied. Therefore, any ethanol scenario under a carbon pricing initiative would turn into a high-impact development option for Goiás, showing much higher environmental impacts when compared to non-carbon-pricing scenarios and the long-term environmental impacts would offset any economic gains. This significant difference between the results of a physical approach and a price approach is an important way of assessing environmental impacts in terms of their economic implications, and a means of aligning both results and policy recommendations more closely to reality. Additionally, the impacts on the return of a sector’s value-add show that no Goiás’ economic sector would be significantly impacted in carbon price scenarios up to US$10/tCO₂ₑ, except for the sector; this would face huge challenges even under 45% and 35% emissions reduction scenarios, with impacts of 17% and 20% in value-added terms, respectively. Finally, the unintended impacts of expanding biofuels, such as the possibility of indirect deforestation and its related GHG emissions, must always be considered before promoting sugarcane expansion in the Paranaíba basin. Therefore, the WEFN analysis is a valuable tool for guiding the sustainable management of natural resources, including water, energy, land use and GHG emissions. In particular, the hybrid extended IO-WEFN framework is useful for designing effective biofuel policies and collectively addressing impacts on environmental, social and economic spheres, in a local or broader context

Small-scale landfills: impacts on groundwater and soil

In Brazil, the large quantities of solid waste\ud produced are out of step with public policies, technological\ud developments, and government budgets for the division. In\ud small municipalities, the common lack of technological\ud knowledge and financial conditions for suitable waste\ud disposal has resulted in a large number of illegal dumps.\ud Therefore, small sanitary landfill facilities are working with\ud simplified operations focusing on cost reduction and\ud meeting the economic and technological standards of the\ud city without endangering the environment or public health.\ud Currently, this activity is regulated at a federal level\ud although there is some uncertainty regarding the risk of soil\ud and aquifer contamination as theses facilities do not\ud employ liners. Thus, this work evaluates a small landfill to\ud identify changes in soil and groundwater using geotechnical\ud parameters, monitoring wells, and geophysical tests\ud performed by electrical profiling. It is verified that based on\ud current conditions, no contaminants have migrated via\ud underground water aquifers, and overall no significant\ud changes have occurred in the soil. It is concluded that,\ud despite its simplicity, the method investigated is a viable\ud alternative for the final disposal of municipal solid waste\ud from small cities, especially in developing countries.FAPESPCAPE

Ten Years of Research on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: An Analysis of Topics Evolution

This study explores how the concept and research on the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has evolved over time. The research uncovers the key terms underpinning the phenomenon, maps the interlinkages between WEF nexus topics, and provides an overview of the evolution of the concept of WEF nexus. We analyzed published academic literature from the Scopus database and performed both qualitative and quantitative analyses using Natural Language Processing method. The findings suggest that the nexus approach is increasingly evolving into an integrative concept, and has been incorporating new topics over time, resulting in different methods for WEF nexus research, with a focus on interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral analyses. Through the five periods outlined, we have identified the nexus approach debate focused on the following predominant topics: i) Trend 1 (2012–2016) debates on WEF nexus for water management and natural resource security, ii) Trend 2 (2017–2018) linkages between the nexus, the sustainable development goals and green economy, iii) Trend 3 (2019) WEF nexus governance and policy integration, iv) Trend 4 (2020) application of the nexus concept on different scales, including regions, countries, watersheds, urban areas as well as other components coupled to the WEF nexus, and, v) Trend 5 (2021) climate change and urban nexus challenges