This research project proposes to develop a water, energy and food nexusing approach that increases resilience capabilities in the Cape Town Metropolitan region. The water-energy-food nexus has emerged as a framework for integrated resource management. To date, however, the practical adoption of nexus approaches into governance practices and policies has lagged behind policy ambitions. The contention of this proposal is that to increase the scientific and societal value of nexus approaches, an expanded view on nexusing processes is required.

Therefore, this project will critically explore the water-energy-food nexus through three main points of departure: the first is to understand the multi-dimensional interaction of water, energy and food systems. The second is to assess how the water-energy-food nexus materialises in selected socio-spatial contexts in Cape Town. Thirdly, the aim is to
understand the wicked governance challenges of mitigating, coping with, preparing for, and adapting to urban resource crises. Finally, the project will develop multi-scale procedural guidelines and policy briefs to inform nexusing practices. To achieve these objectives, the research adopts a complex systems approach which systematically addresses the multi-dimensional nature of the water-energy-food nexus. Through a multi-disciplinary approach and in close collaboration with societal partners, WEF nexusing will be explored as a broader process-oriented approach to howresources do, and can, interact and be governed across siloed domains.

This is a crucially important endeavour in the city of Cape Town which faces a triple exposure to interrelated water, energy and food crises. Through this expanded perspective, and emerging from the urgent need for concerted urban action, this broader view of nexusing will be framed through the conceptual lens of urban resilience. The research will assess the vulnerabilities and resilience of complex system interactions to develop recommendations for coordinating resilience strategies that work complementary to existing governance arrangements.

• dr. Shaun Smith
• prof. mr. Marleen van Rijswick
• prof. dr. Maarten Hajer
• prof. dr. Jochen Monstadt
• Nicola Harvey
• dr. Shaun Smith

This research project aims at identifying and understanding energy transition issues and opportunities for innovation from a governance, legal and economic perspective. In this project we will both employ a retrospective as well as an onward looking perspective into these issues in order to suggest instruments to facilitate the energy transition in the power and energy intensive industry.

The power and energy intensive industries present substantial challenges in the transition towards more sustainable energy because of the large quantities of energy consumed, the fossil resources of this energy and, therefore, the amount of CO2 emissions. Through societal and political awareness of this issue, these sectors are increasingly pressured to make considerable changes to the ways they consume and generate energy.

Social, legal and economic research into these two industries and their connection to each other, the energy system at large and renewable energy is lagging behind other research aspects of the energy transition, such as technical research, consumer behaviour and market regulation. Research has only just begun to uncover the complexities of these two industries and, insofar as it exists, mainly focuses on China and Germany.

https://www.uu.nl/en/research/regulation-of-innovation/sustainable-energy

• prof. mr. Marleen van Rijswick
• prof. dr. Wouter Botzen
• dr. Ank Michels