Electricity for groundwater use: constraints and opportunities for adaptive response to climate change

The document analyzes the role of electricity supply as a climate adaptation tool for groundwater pumping, specifically highlighting how low night-time tariffs in Mexico have led to increased pumping and higher emissions, threatening aquifer sustainability and riparian ecosystems.

• In Mexico, the provision of night-time electricity at tariffs lower than existing subsidized agricultural rates has incentivized farmers to increase groundwater pumping, which has negated previous progress in conserving water and electricity.
• Agricultural groundwater pumping in Mexico generates emissions estimated at 3.6% of the country's total national emissions, a figure comparable to the emissions produced by transporting that same agricultural produce to market.
• Unrestricted groundwater pumping, including for the export of virtual water via agricultural products, endangers the long-term viability of aquifers, non-agricultural water needs, and the stream-aquifer interactions necessary for riparian ecosystems.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Electricity for groundwater use: constraints and opportunities for adaptive response to climate change. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/electricity-for-groundwater-use-constraints-and-opportunities-for-adaptive-response-to-climate-change/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Electricity for groundwater use: constraints and opportunities for adaptive response to climate change. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/electricity-for-groundwater-use-constraints-and-opportunities-for-adaptive-response-to-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Electricity for groundwater use: constraints and opportunities for adaptive response to climate change |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/electricity-for-groundwater-use-constraints-and-opportunities-for-adaptive-response-to-climate-change/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025electricity, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Electricity for groundwater use: constraints and opportunities for adaptive response to climate change}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/electricity-for-groundwater-use-constraints-and-opportunities-for-adaptive-response-to-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }