Water–Energy–Carbon Nexus: Towards Integrated Solutions for Sustainable Resource Management

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, "Water–Energy–Carbon Nexus: Towards Integrated Solutions for Sustainable Resource Management", aims to explore the interconnected challenges and synergistic opportunities at the intersection of water, energy, and carbon cycles in the context of climate mitigation and sustainable development.

This Special Issue seeks contributions that address how integrated approaches—including technological innovation, economic instruments, policy design, and systemic planning—can enhance resource efficiency, reduce environmental footprints, and support decarbonization pathways. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Water–energy–carbon linkages in resource systems (e.g., constructed wetlands, wastewater treatment, hydropower, irrigation, water reuse);
• Life cycle and techno-economic assessments of water-related technologies for carbon mitigation;
• Policy and governance frameworks for water–energy–carbon integration (e.g., carbon pricing, water rights, transboundary governance);
• Applications of AI, remote sensing, and modelling in optimizing water–energy–carbon systems;
• Circular economy strategies in water management: resource recovery, recycling, and reuse;
• Socio-economic and ecological dimensions of water–energy–carbon interactions, including equity, health, and ecosystem services.

We welcome interdisciplinary research that aligns with the scope of Water—especially studies bridging engineering, economics, policy, and environmental science—to advance the management of sustainable water resources for a low-carbon future.

Prof. Dr. Guozhu Mao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.