La huella de carbono y la huella hídrica en infraestructuras hidráulicas y portuarias de los archipiélagos de España

Abstract

Spain counts with two archipelagos, the Balearic and the Canary Islands, which, despite the fact that they have different climates and their location with respect to the Iberian Peninsula is clearly different, have the following similarities: a) high tourism, b) high water consumption, which in most cases is supplemented by seawater desalination, c) high dependence on the exterior and d) a special vulnerability to climate change. For all these reasons, the carbon and water footprint of hydraulic and port infrastructures in both archipelagos has been studied. The results obtained show that the facilities with the largest carbon footprint are the seawater desalination plants, due to their high electricity consumption and the fact that, on the islands, electricity production with renewable energies is not particularly developed at present. With respect to maritime facilities, the aim was to highlight the value of nautical tourism and how this is of notable importance in the islands studied, with a high carbon footprint, especially in scope 3, that is, due to the interaction of the seaport with its environment in order to provide a service. In addition, it has been studied how water saving measures implemented in large facilities such as hotels, lead to significant water and energy savings, which translate into a reduction of the water footprint, something of vital importance in the hotel sector of the archipelagos.