'The ‘nexus’ has become a popular buzz word to describe the complex linkages among water, energy and food security – sectors that have traditionally remained fairly separate. Talk of the water-energy-food nexus was a hot topic at the Planet Under Pressure conference; it is also the focus of a significant German government-organised input to the UN Rio+20 Summit. This blog asks: What has brought nexus thinking to the fore, and what does this nexus look like? How does it relate to climate compatible development?'