Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
the importance of redundancy as a way to increase the capacity to cope with
surprises. Examples at a community or regional scale include stockpiling of
critical supplies, such as electricity generators. Examples at a corporate scale
include fuel reserves as an example at the national scale is the US Strategic
Petroleum Reserve. But redundancy is not without costs; and where the beneits
of such backups are more widely spread than the beneits of eiciency during
normal operations, issues may emerge about how much redundancy is desirable
and who pays for it.
• Sensitivity to what citizens/consumers/stakeholders want. In a democratic
society such as the US, a risk management strategy that provokes public oppo-
sition is likely to be diicult to implement, regardless whether it appears to be
good business. Conversely, a risk management strategy that generates broad
public support is likely to have positive beneits in terms of the reputation of the
energy institutions involved and even the potential for policy support. How to
assure such sensitivity during the process of developing risk management strate-
gies difers across sub-sectors of the US energy supply and use system, but it is
an issue that always merits atention.
E. Assessment Findings
Regarding climate change risk management strategies for energy supply and use, we
ind that
:
• Despite uncertainties about climate change impacts in the future, robust risk
management strategies can be developed and - in an iterative manner that incor-
porates continuing observation, evaluation, and learning - implemented
High consensus, moderate evidence
SeeSectionsIVA,IIIA8
• Many of the elements of such strategies can be identiied based on existing
knowledge
SeeSectionIVA
High consensus, moderate evidence
• A critically important step toward developing such strategies is conducting
vulnerability assessments
High consensus, moderate evidence
SeeSectionIVA2
