Climate ScienceSocial Cost of CarbonHealthAgricultureLaborEnergyConflictCoastalMigration

Energy

While dynamic enough to respond to the climate conditions of the past, energy systems as currently designed are poorly prepared for future climatic changes.  Rising temperatures, increased competition for water supply, and elevated storm surge risk will affect the cost and reliability of energy supply.

Energy is the backbone of the global economy. Ensuring a reliable supply of electricity and other sources of energy is critical to the health, safety and economic growth of households and businesses across the world. As communities that have been without power after an extreme weather even know all too well, reliable and resilient power is critical to providing health care, air conditioning, sanitation and basic services essential for human well-being and financial security. 
While dynamic enough to respond to the climate conditions of the past, energy systems as currently designed are poorly prepared for future climatic changes.  Rising temperatures, increased competition for water supply, and elevated storm surge risk will affect the cost and reliability of energy supply.  There are a number of points in the long and complex energy supply chain where climate-related disruptions could interrupt delivery of electricity, heating, or transport fuels. 

As communities that have been without power after an extreme weather even know all too well, reliable and resilient power is critical to providing health care, air conditioning, sanitation and basic services essential for human well-being and financial security.   

Climate change will also shape the amount and type of energy consumed. Energy demand is highly climate-sensitive in many sectors of the global economy, and temperature in particular is a significant determinant of both the quantity and type of energy consumed. Demand for heating and cooling fluctuates hourly, daily, and seasonally in response to outdoor ambient temperatures. Hotter temperatures will increase demand for residential and commercial air conditioning run on electricity. Climate-driven changes in air conditioning can have an out-sized impact on the electric power sector, forcing utilities to build additional capacity to meet even higher peak demand when temperatures rise. At the same time, in northern latitudes, warmer winter temperatures as a result of climate change will reduce heating demand. 

Featured Journal Article Read
Estimating a Social Cost of Carbon for Global Energy Consumption
Rode, A., Carleton, T., Delgado, M. et al. Estimating a social cost of carbon for global energy consumption. Nature 598, 308–314 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03883-8
This study provides a globally comprehensive, detailed understanding of the impacts and behavioral adaptations caused by energy for cooling and heating, offering critical insights for policymakers, energy systems planners, business leaders, and a range of stakeholders who are preparing to mitigate and adapt to a more unstable climate. It is a core input to the Climate Impact Lab's Data-driven Spatial Climate Impact Model (DSCIM).

Published October 13, 2021

Read

Energy Research

Report View
Climate Change: Information on Potential Economic Effects Could Help Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Fiscal Exposure

U.S. Government Accountability Office

The GAO's new report draws heavily from two national-scale studies: one from the EPA and the other is the American Climate Prospectus, authored by Climate Impact Lab members. The federal auditors found that the federal government has not undertaken strategic government-wide planning to manage climate risks by using information on the potential economic effects of climate change to identify significant risks and craft appropriate federal responses.

Published October 24, 2017

Read
Journal Article Read
Estimating Economic Damage from Climate Change in the United States

Hsiang, S., Kopp, R.E., Jina, A., Rising, J., Delgado M., Mohan, S., Rasmussen, D.J., Muir-Wood, R., Wilson, P., Oppenheimer, M., Larsen, K., and Houser, T. (2017). Estimating economic damage from climate change in the United States. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aal4369

Spatially explicit, probabilistic, and empirically derived estimates of economic damage in the United States from climate change.

Published June 29, 2017

Read
Report View
American Climate Prospectus: Economic Risks in the United States

Solomon Hsiang, Robert Kopp, Amir Jina, Michael Delgado, James Rising, Shashank Mohan, Robert Muir-Wood, D. J. Rasmussen, Michael Mastrandrea, Paul Wilson, Kate Larsen and Trevor Houser (2014). American Climate Prospectus: Economic Risks in the United States.

The American Climate Prospectus (ACP) provides a groundbreaking new analysis of climate risks by region of the country and sector of the economy. By linking state-of-the-art climate models with econometric research of human responses to climate variability and cutting edge private sector risk assessment tools, the ACP offers decision-makers a data driven assessment of the specific risks they face.

Published October 20, 2014

Read
Journal Article Read
Social and economic impacts of climate

Tamma A. Carleton & Solomon M. Hsiang, (2016). Social and economic impacts of climate. Science.

For centuries, thinkers have considered whether and how climatic conditions influence the nature of societies and the performance of economies. A multidisciplinary renaissance of quantitative empirical research has begun to illuminate key linkages in the coupling of these complex natural and human systems, uncovering notable effects of climate on health, agriculture, economics, conflict, migration, and demographics.

Published September 12, 2016

Read

Explore Our Research