By Nicholas Earl
Extreme weather events caused by climate change pose a significant risk to the world’s energy infrastructure, warned the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
In its latest report, the WMO said existing energy infrastructure was already “under stress” and climate change was likely to directly affect energy infrastructure such as dams, thermal power plants and nuclear stations,
It would also potentially jeopardise fuel supply, energy production and the resilience of existing and future energy projects.
Flood and drought risk was a particular concern, with the WMO highlighting that 87 per cent of the global electricity generated from thermal, nuclear and hydroelectric systems directly depended on water availability,
It calculated that a third of thermal power plants that relied on freshwater availability for cooling were already in areas of water stress, as were 15 per cent of existing nuclear power plants and 11 per cent of hydroelectric capacity.
Meanwhile, a quarter of the world’s existing hydropower dams, and almost a quarter of projected dams, were situated within river basins that already have a “medium to very high risk” of water scarcity.
Countries with the highest existing hydropower capacity projected to experience the greatest increase in flood risk includes Canada, Uganda, Russia, Zambia, Egypt, Ghana, Venezuela, China and India.
Earlier this year, droughts and heatwaves forced France to waive environmental rules over water temperatures to ensure its nuclear plants remained operational.
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