Past Program/Event

Competing demands for water and energy resources in China are creating a resource scarcity pressure point unparalleled elsewhere in the world. Following 30 years of massive economic growth, water and energy development in China continues to advance full throttle as the nation struggles to develop infrastructure and resource access to fuel its economic growth rate. Facing duel problems of severe water deficits (that is, demand outweighs supply) and increasing demand for power, China’s water and energy futures are highly interconnected, yet rarely examined as interdependent resources.

On June 5th we explored the relationship between water and energy, examining the water-intensity of energy production and the energy-intensity of water production in China today. Dr. Christine Boyle described water-energy interdependence, China’s current situation, opportunities for innovation, and the global implications of this mounting crisis.

Dr. Christine Boyle is currently the CEO of Blue Horizon Insight, a research and analytics firm helping companies navigate China’s business-water resources nexus. She is also a research fellow at the University of North Carolina’s School of Government and the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing.

Dr. Boyle has led numerous academic and environmental consulting projects in China, including being the primary environmental planner for a waterfront development project in Qingdao and participating in two World Bank projects in rural China on irrigation water governance. She is a recognized expert on China’s water policy and has presented widely to students, policymakers, and industry leaders on perils and progress in China’s water management sector.

Sponsored by: Squire Sanders
Special thanks to our host for all Signature Luncheons, WOSU Studios @ COSI.