Loading article...
Loading article...
Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM67080
Volume:
10 |
9 |
Sep 2026
Pages:
1-6
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
Commerce and Management
Sikkim Manipal University
Commerce and Management
Sikkim Manipal University
Energy and freshwater are closely connected resources, but the evidence used to track them is updated at very different rates. This study reviews global energy and freshwater-use patterns from 2020 to 2025 using the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, International Energy Agency (IEA) assessments, FAO AQUASTAT and World Development Indicators, UN-Water reports and World Bank population data. Global total energy supply rose from 536.07 exajoules (EJ) in 2020 to about 600.31 EJ in 2025. This is an increase of 12.0% over the period, equivalent to an approximate compound annual growth rate of 2.3%. Energy supply per person also increased, from 68.26 to 73.07 gigajoules (GJ). The global freshwater record is less current. Comparable AQUASTAT/World Bank observations are consolidated only through 2022, when withdrawals were approximately 3,876 billion m3 in 2020, 3,850 billion m3 in 2021 and 3,853 billion m3 in 2022. Thus, aggregate withdrawals changed very little during the years for which both energy and water data are available, while freshwater withdrawal per person declined from about 493.5 to 482.3 m3 per year. Over the same interval, the descriptive water-to-energy co-use ratio fell from 7.23 to 6.75 billion m3 per EJ. This ratio describes the movement of two economy-wide aggregates and should not be read as the water intensity of energy production. Taken together, the results suggest a limited form of macro-level relative decoupling: energy supply expanded without a corresponding rise in total freshwater withdrawals during 2020-2022. At the same time, regional water scarcity and water stress remain important concerns. The analysis also identifies a significant information gap. Energy statistics extend to 2025, whereas globally harmonized freshwater-withdrawal data lag by several years. More timely water accounting and basin-level reporting would improve the basis for integrated energy and water planning.
KEYWORDS
From 2020 to 2025, global energy supply moved from the pandemic-related downturn to a new high. Total energy supply increased from 536.07 EJ to approximately 600.31 EJ, while energy supply per person rose by about 7%. The freshwater evidence covers a shorter period. Globally comparable observations currently extend through 2022 and withdrawals remained close to 3.85 trillion m3 per year between 2020 and 2022. Over the same years, freshwater withdrawal per person declined modestly. Because energy supply increased while the aggregate water total remained almost unchanged, the descriptive water-to-energy co-use ratio fell by about 6.7%. This result should be viewed as a modest signal rather than evidence that global water use has become sustainable. It shows only that the increase in global energy supply during 2020-2022 was not accompanied by a proportional increase in total freshwater withdrawals. Agriculture remains the largest user of freshwater, water scarcity is concentrated geographically and climate variability is making water availability less predictable in many regions. Two priorities follow from the analysis: resource efficiency and low-water development pathways should continue to improve and water statistics need to become more timely and spatially detailed so that energy and water decisions can be made from evidence covering the same period.
1. Chini, C.M., Excell, L.E., Stillwell, A.S. (2021). A review of energy-for-water data in energy-water nexus publications. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12), 123011. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abcc2a 2. Ding, T., Liang, L., Zhou, K., Yang, M., Wei, Y. (2020). Water-energy nexus: The origin, development and prospect. Ecological Modelling, 419, 108943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.108943 3. Energy Institute (2025). Statistical Review of World Energy 2025. Energy Institute, London. https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review 4. Energy Institute (2026). Statistical Review of World Energy 2026. Energy Institute, London. https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review 5. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2025). AQUASTAT Water Data Snapshot 2025. Rome: FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd7054en 6. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2026). AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture. https://data.apps.fao.org/aquastat/ 7. Fontenelle, A.L., Nilsson, E., Hidalgo, I.G., Uvo, C.B., Peyerl, D. (2022). Temporal Understanding of the Water-Energy Nexus: A Literature Review. Energies, 15(8), 2851. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15082851 8. Helerea, E., Calin, M.D., Musuroi, C. (2023). Water Energy Nexus and Energy Transition-A Review. Energies, 16(4), 1879. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16041879 9. International Energy Agency (IEA) (2025). Global Energy Review 2025. Paris: IEA. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025 10. International Energy Agency (IEA) (2026). Global Energy Review 2026. Paris: IEA. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2026
Publication Date
9/3/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
Documents
Article Views
0
Total views since publication
PDF Downloads
11
Total downloads since publication
Geographic Reach
5
Digital Preservation: This article is permanently archived on Zenodo and complies with all data preservation standards across major indexing platforms.
Plagiarism Screening
This manuscript has been checked for plagiarism using TurnitinPlagiarismChecker software.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this research work.
Funding Information
No funding information available for this research.
Related research in the same subject area
Loading similar articles...