Afterward: Closing Thoughts on the Water–Food–Energy–Climate Nexus

Abstract

In the space of a decade, the concept of the ``nexus'' has gained considerable traction as a holistic, and allegedly disruptive, approach to thinking about current environmental issues. The content of the nexus varies across reports and conferences and speeches—there is the water–energy nexus, the water–energy–food nexus, the water–energy–food–climate nexus and so on (e.g. McCornick et al. 2008; Perrone and Hornberger 2014; Poppy et al. 2014; WBCSD 2009; WEF 2009; for an annotated bibliography, see Williams 2014). But those embracing this concept appear less concerned about reaching broad agreement on what it does and does not include than they are about reaching an agreement that the concept itself is innovative, inclusive and useful for understanding and addressing contemporary environmental challenges.