Safeguarding NDC Implementation: Building resilience into energy systems

The document highlights how climate change threatens energy infrastructure through extreme weather and shifting environmental conditions, which can jeopardize the financial viability of projects. It advocates for a resilience-based approach—focusing on robustness, resourcefulness, and recovery—and suggests a combination of technological, green, behavioural, and financial strategies to safeguard energy systems and support NDC mitigation goals.

• Outdated design standards based on historical data increase the risk of energy system failures, which can lead to higher operating costs, reduced asset life expectancy, and long-term delivery disruptions.
• Climate-related risks directly impact various energy generation sources: warming trends can reduce solar PV and thermal plant efficiency; precipitation changes can affect hydropower and biomass yields; cyclones can damage wind and thermal infrastructure; and sea-level rise threatens offshore and coastal installations.
• Integrating climate risk assessments during the planning phase is critical for 'bankability,' as investors and lenders are unlikely to fund projects unless they are satisfied with the risk profile and potential effects on revenue.
• Energy system resilience is categorized by the 'three Rs': robustness (survival of impacts), resourcefulness (management during events), and recovery (return to full operation).
• Building resilience can simultaneously support climate mitigation by diversifying energy supplies through renewables or replacing aging infrastructure with decentralized renewable systems to reduce GHG emissions.
• Effective risk management requires a multi-pronged approach: technological 'hard solutions' (e.g., higher building standards), green infrastructure (e.g., natural stormwater management), behavioural strategies (e.g., early warning systems), and financial instruments (e.g., catastrophe bonds or expanded insurance).

APA

Rooban, A., & Terton, A. (2018). Safeguarding NDC Implementation: Building resilience into energy systems. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/safeguarding-ndc-implementation.pdf

Chicago

Rooban, Anne, and Anika Terton. Safeguarding NDC Implementation: Building resilience into energy systems. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/safeguarding-ndc-implementation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rooban |first1=Anne |last2=Terton |first2=Anika |title=Safeguarding NDC Implementation: Building resilience into energy systems |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/safeguarding-ndc-implementation.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rooban2018safeguarding, author = {Rooban, Anne and Terton, Anika}, title = {{Safeguarding NDC Implementation: Building resilience into energy systems}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/safeguarding-ndc-implementation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }