Unveiling the Nexus Profile of Embodied Water–Energy–Carbon–Value Flows of the Yellow River Basin in China

Unveiling the nexus profile of the water-energy-carbon (WEC) and value flows embodied in regional trade is essential for enhancing the co-benefits between economic development and environment conservation. However, minimal research explores the WEC and value-added nexus efficiency of the Yellow Basin River (YRB) with a comprehensive framework. Thus, this study built a nexus framework based on a multiregional input-output model (MRIO) to analyze embodied WEC and value-added flows in the nine provinces of the YRB and all 31 provinces of China, primarily in 2017 compared to 2012 and 2015. Three dimensions (space, sectors, and environmental and economic factors) depict the WEC and value-added nexus patterns. The results from these three dimensions uncovered that the YRB benefits from regional trade but suffers environmental losses, and the development imbalance among the provinces of the basin is exacerbated. The proposed integrated framework can be generalized to water-energy extended nexus analysis in other regions to portray a more complex human-environment system nexus pattern. The new knowledge of how embodied WEC interacts with concomitant economic activities within and beyond the YRB can benefit multiresource-integrated management in the YRB and coordinated regional development in China.