Averting water wars as we decarbonize

Catalyst · 15 Sept 2022 · 39m

What this episode covers

Dr. Michael Webber, CTO at Energy Impact Partners and professor at UT Austin, discusses the intricate 'energy-water nexus' in his book *Thirst for Power*. He explains how energy is used to move and treat water, and how water is critical for cooling power plants, extracting fuels, and transporting energy via barges. Webber highlights vulnerabilities exposed by recent droughts in China and Germany, where low river levels halted coal shipments and strained hydropower, and warns that climate change intensifies these risks. He suggests that while decarbonization can reduce water intensity, the transition must carefully balance carbon goals with water constraints to avoid exacerbating resource scarcity.

Most relevant to

large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies: Energy Impact Partners, Energy Hub, Bloom Energy, Foxconn, VW, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, EIA
Also: Thirst for Power

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8 chapters

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