U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather

In a new report, the U.S. Department of Energy predicts that disruptions to the nation's energy supply will continue to worsen due to the continuing effects of climate change and extreme weather.

The report highlights three major climate trends that have great impacts on the energy sector:

1. Increasing air and water temperatures 2. Decreasing water availability in some regions and seasons 3. Increasing intensity and frequency of major storm events, flooding, and sea level rise

The current and future impacts of these climate trends on U.S. energy are investigated in the document, and evidence shows that "a range of energy sources are at risk, from coal-fired power plants to oil wells, hydroelectric dams and nuclear power plants." As a result, being able to quantify "the impacts of climate change on the nation's energy infrastructure is increasingly important to improve understanding of the social and economic costs and benefits of resilience measures and response strategies."

The Department of Energy acknowledges efforts made at the federal, state, and local level to respond to the threat of climate change, including "the deployment of energy technologies that are more climate-resilient, assessment of vulnerabilities in the energy sector, adaptation planning efforts, and policies that can facilitate these efforts. However, the pace, scale, and scope of combined public and private efforts to improve the climate preparedness and resilience of the energy sector will need to increase, given the challenges identified. Greater resilience will require improved technologies, polices, information, and stakeholder engagement."

For further information, this map shows how the three climate trends studied in the report "have caused major issues to the energy sector across the country over the past ten years".

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