Energy security in the EU is a priority of the European Commission (EC). However, at present, energy-related policies do not account for the use of water as a resource — and water is becoming increasingly scarce as a result of human activity. This study provides a detailed assessment of the water footprint (WF) of the energy sector in the EU and could be valuable in informing future policy to protect against water scarcity, stress and insecurity.

Due to human use of freshwater in a range of economic activities, both blue water (surface and groundwater, in rivers, lakes, and aquifers) and green water (soil moisture from precipitation used by plants) are facing concerns over scarcity (although these vary in extent and by location). The effects of ongoing climate change threaten to further impact water availability by affecting the predictability and distribution of water sources, and making extreme weather events — droughts and flooding — more prevalent. As water is used as a resource in the energy sector, energy security is therefore a concern for the EC; the Energy Union Strategy focuses on boosting energy security by bolstering the internal energy market and increasing the use of renewable energy to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. However, use of water as a resource is not explicitly accounted for in EU energy-related policies. A recent study provides the most geographically detailed consumptive WF assessment for the EU to date. The results could help to inform decisions on energy policy that is effective at minimising or reducing water use, the researchers suggest. The study used newly developed spatial databases of energy sources to calculate the WF for energy production and use in the EU in 2015. It used WF as a pressure indicator, quantifying the amount of blue and green water used along the energy supply chain (including fuel supply, construction and power generation) and calculating the WF of both domestic (EU) and external energy sources.

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