A Methodological Integrated Approach to Analyse Climate Change Effects in Agri-Food Sector: The TIMES Water-Energy-Food Module

Maria Maddalena Tortorella, Senatro Di Leo, Carmelina Cosmi, Patrícia Fortes, Mauro Viccaro, Mario Cozzi, Filomena Pietrapertosa, Monica Salvia and Severino Romano
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Maria Maddalena Tortorella: School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Senatro Di Leo: Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis-National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IMAA) C.da S. Loja, 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), Italy
Carmelina Cosmi: Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis-National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IMAA) C.da S. Loja, 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), Italy
Patrícia Fortes: CENSE (Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research), NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Mauro Viccaro: School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Mario Cozzi: School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Filomena Pietrapertosa: Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis-National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IMAA) C.da S. Loja, 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), Italy
Monica Salvia: Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis-National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IMAA) C.da S. Loja, 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), Italy
Severino Romano: School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: The European Union’s 2030 climate and energy policy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underline the commitment to mitigate climate change and reduce its impacts by supporting sustainable use of resources. This commitment has become stricter in light of the ambitious climate neutrality target set by the European Green Deal for 2050. Water, Energy and Food are the key variables of the “Nexus Thinking” which face the sustainability challenge with a multi-sectoral approach. The aim of the paper is to show the methodological path toward the implementation of an integrated modeling platform based on the Nexus approach and consolidated energy system analysis methods to represent the agri-food system in a circular economy perspective (from the use of water, energy, biomass, and land to food production). The final aim is to support decision-making connected to climate change mitigation. The IEA-The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System (TIMES) model generator was used to build up the Basilicata Water, Energy and Food model (TIMES-WEF model), which allows users a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of climate change on the Basilicata agri-food system in terms of land use, yields and water availability and a critical comparison of these indicators in different scenarios. The paper focuses on the construction of the model’s Reference Energy and Material System of the TIMES model, which integrates water and agricultural commodities into the energy framework, and on the results obtained through the calibration of the model β version to statistical data on agricultural activities.

Keywords: Nexus Thinking; IEA-TIMES model; agri-food system; land use; scenario analysis; climate change mitigation; Basilicata region (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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