The New Normal of Extreme Weather
Lawrence Jones is Senior Vice President of EEI International Programs.
The summer season for many countries in the Northern Hemisphere has been marked by relentless heatwaves that have tested the resilience of societies, governments, and our energy grid. Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable communities and regions by disrupting weather patterns and impacting human and environmental health.
Extreme weather events have increasingly become a global reality. How citizens live under extreme heat conditions is the focus of discussion by policymakers around the world.
Heat waves have impacted various sectors, including water, energy, transportation, and health. These weather-related challenges, coupled with supply chain, geopolitics, and other crises, are prompting us to intensify efforts on system-wide resilience as we face the impacts of climate change.
How can we make society more resilient? How can we rethink resilience and incorporate technological, social, economic, and environmental perspectives into a systematic approach which responds and adapts to the new normal of heat waves and other extreme weather? Finally, how will our success be measured?
In the lead up to COP28 to be held in Dubai Nov. 3 to Dec.12, these questions are critical as we search for solutions for the energy transition and for achieving sustainable development goals. In July, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres announced that the era of global boiling has arrived.