Assessing the sectoral water-energy-emissions nexus in North China: An input–output framework combining intersectoral footprint and SDA method

North China regions have faced serious water–energy–carbon (WEC) conflicts for many years, which severely delay the achievement of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Figuring out the sectoral WEC nexus clearly is a significant way to promote regional WEC synergistic benefits. By combining the input–output model and the structural decomposition analysis model, this study investigates how various drivers influence the sectoral WEC nexus and intersectoral footprint in North China regions. The method involves classifying the driving factors into four parts: the water–energy relationship, the energy intensity, the production structure adjustments, and end-use demand. The main conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) Reducing energy intensity in North China brings both water-saving and carbon reduction benefits, while increasing energy intensity causes increasing water consumption and carbon emissions. (2) Production structure adjustments result in different impacts on water use, energy use, and carbon emissions, which makes Inner Mongolia depend on more energy and less water during its development process from 2012 to 2017. This proposed method investigated the quantitative footprint changes caused by demand changes in key downstream sectors, which provides a new insight to explore and meliorate the sectoral WEC nexus in regions with acute energy–economy–environment conflicts.