Impact of urbanization on water-energy-carbon nexus system: The case of Zhengzhou, China

Exploring the impact of urbanization on water-energy-carbon nexus system is helpful to discover the inherent interaction mechanism and co-evolutionary pattern of water-energy-carbon nexus in urban expansion. Based on the calculation of water-energy-carbon of different land use types, the impact of urbanization on water-energy-carbon nexus system in Zhengzhou was analyzed, and the future evolution of water-energy-carbon nexus system under different urbanization scenarios was simulated. The results showed that land use change during urbanization was affected by the industrial pattern and the intensity of human activities, which further caused the increases in water and energy consumption and carbon emissions. There was a positive correlation between urbanization level and coupling coordination degree of water-energy-carbon nexus system. Especially, the changes in water and energy consumption caused by land use change during urbanization largely determined the coupling coordination level of water-energy-carbon nexus system. Additionally, different urbanization scenarios would lead to different growth rates of water and energy consumption and carbon emissions, in which the impact of land urbanization on urban water-energy-carbon nexus system was greater than that of the economic and population urbanization. In the future, urban expansion control and land use regulation based on collaborative optimization of water-energy-carbon should be adopted.