Energy is on the hot seat right now

The catastrophic damage wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on major U.S. oil and natural-gas production and supply facilities in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 brought national attention to bear on the perplexing issue of how climate change will impact energy systems in coming years.

Based on what scientists know right now, many believe there is cause for concern. Not only are Gulf oil and gas supplies in jeopardy, but the health and welfare of the nation’s economy and the regional populations located in hurricane pathways also could hang in the balance.

"There are a lot of effects caused by the interaction between climate systems and climate impacts and energy production and use," said Susan F. Tierney, managing principal of Analysis Group, who spoke at the National Summit on Coping with Climate Change on May 8.

Tierney, who is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, explained that temperature changes will impact energy demand by reducing the heating load in southern areas as winters become more moderate and by increasing the cooling load in northern areas as hotter, drier seasons occur.

This will affect not only natural gas, which is used in buildings and industrial processes, but also electric production.

"It’s very likely there will be peak increases in electricity and other forms of energy," Tierney said. "Peaking matters because it is a form of electric production that is not used very often, and, unfortunately, it tends to be rather polluting."

Heightened interest in building terminals for liquefied-natural-gas importation in U.S. coastal areas also seems to be on a collision course with climate-change effects, particularly rising sea levels and intensifying storms. Climate change also could affect hydropower generation in the Northwest.

Tierney outlined several strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change on energy, including changing our energy system and increasing our use of biomass fuels. Technological advances also offer hope for weaning the nation off its rising fossil-fuel consumption.

Clearly, she said, much could be done to strengthen energy production and distribution systems and infrastructures by incorporating possible climate-change impacts into the planning process. That, however, is the crux of the problem.

"One of the challenges is the cultural tension that exists in the energy field," Tierney said. "The engineers at the power plants and in the planning offices are used to thinking, ‘This is on my watch, and we’re going to keep the lights on today.'

"They also are not particularly charitable in terms of their thinking about environmentalists," she added. "There are a lot of cultural issues that have to be dealt with."

The National Summit on Coping with Climate Change, May 8-10, was hosted by the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment. The summit is part of the Clinton Global Initiative, a non-partisan catalyst for action, established by former President Bill Clinton and the William J. Clinton Foundation for the purpose of bringing together global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to pressing world challenges.

By Claudia Capos

For more information, contact Cynthia Shaw at

cshaw@umich.edu or call 734-763-6605.