An input-output analysis of Australian water usage

摘要

Australia's annual water use of 22, 000 Gl is dissected using input-output techniques, showing that 30/100 of Australia's water requirement was devoted to domestic food production and a further 30/100 to exports, compared with 7/100 required for direct consumption by households. There is a newt annual trade deficit in embodied water of approximately 4000 Gl. A strong relationship exists between water requirement and expenditure. If by 2050 Australia's population grows to 25 million people and per-capita expenditure doubles, the annual water requirement may more than double to 50, 000 Gl, equivalent to half the nation's water flows. While this increase may be improbable it gives the challenge that the water required to deliver a unit of output across the whole economy may have to reduce by a factor of two, if population growth and economic growth are to meet policy expectations.