Driving Factors of Decoupling between Economic Development and Water Consumption in Food and Energy in North-West China—Based on the Tapio-LMDI Method

The shortage of water resources has become a notable bottleneck, restricting the economic development of many countries and areas around the word, especially that of North-west China. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Shaanxi Province are important energy bases and food production areas in North-west China. However, the region is suffering from perennial drought and water shortage, which has become the most significant shortcoming for energy and food production. Guiding the decoupling between regional economic development and water consumption is a critical way to achieve sustainable development. Based on the analysis of the food and energy production value and their water consumption in North-west China from 2009 to 2019, this paper uses the Tapio model to analyze the decoupling relationship between food, energy production, and water consumption, and uses the Logarithmic Mean Divisional Index (LMDI) model to analyze the driving factors affecting decoupling. The results show that most water consumption for food and energy production in North-west China is out of the ideal strong decoupling, the decoupling status is unstable, and re-coupling occurs frequently. The increase in water intensity and the change in industrial structure are the promoting factors of decoupling between production value and water consumption in food and energy in North-west China, while the increase in production value and population size are the main restraining factors. Therefore, in pursuit of strong decoupling, the government should guide the food and energy industry to move toward implementing in water saving measures through policies and promote the enthusiasm and efficiency of the labor force through financial support and other ways. Moreover, ecological protective measures are needed to be strengthened, such as water source protection, and sewage treatment.