The Fifth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the most comprehensive and relevant analysis of our changing climate. It provides the scientific fact base that will be used around the world to formulate climate policies in the coming years. This document is one of a series synthesizing the most pertinent findings of AR5 for specific economic and business sectors. It was born of the belief that the energy sector could make more use of AR5, which is long and highly technical, if it were distilled into an accurate, accessible, timely, relevant and readable summary. Although the information presented here is a ‘translation’ of the key content relevant to this sector from AR5, this summary report adheres to the rigorous scientific basis of the original source material. The basis for information presented in this overview report can be found in the fully-referenced and peer-reviewed IPCC technical and scientific background reports at: www.ipcc.ch

1. climate
everyone’s
business
Climate
Change:
Implica0ons
for
the
Energy
Sector
Key
Findings
from
the
Intergovernmental
Panel
on
Climate
Change
Fi7h
Assessment
Report
June
2014

2. climate
everyone’s
business
Climate
Change:
Energy
demand
is
increasing
globally,
causing
greenhouse
gas
(GHG)
emissions
from
the
energy
sector
also
to
increase.
Emissions
at
current
rates
are
projected
to
raise
global
average
surface
temperature
by
2.6–4.8oC
by
2100.
Key
Findings
Strong
global
poli0cal
ac0on
on
climate
change
would
have
major
implica0ons
for
the
energy
sector.

3. climate
everyone’s
business
Climate
Change:
Implica0ons
for
Energy
Energy
demand
is
increasing
due
to:
§ Rising
popula0on
§ Economic
growth
Energy
produc0on
and
delivery
will
be
affected
by:
§ Progressive
temperature
increase
§ Increasing
and
more
severe
extreme
weather
events
§ Changing
precipita0on
paFerns
The
long-­‐term
trend
of
gradual
decarbonisaQon
of
energy
has
reversed
due
to
an
increase
in
coal
burning.

4. climate
everyone’s
Climate
Change:
Impacts
and
Adapta0ons
business
§ Thermal
power
plants
will
be
affected
by
the
decreasing
efficiency
of
thermal
conversion
as
a
result
of
rising
temperatures,
as
well
as
possible
lack
of
water
for
cooling.
§ Oil
and
gas
pipelines
will
be
affected
by
rising
sea
levels
or
thawing
permafrost,
and
may
require
new
zoning,
design
or
construcQon.
§ Power
lines
are
vulnerable
to
extreme
weather
events,
but
can
be
re-­‐routed
away
from
high-­‐risk
areas.
§ Renewables
are
threatened
by
changes
to
regional
weather
paUerns
such
as
precipita0on,
storms,
and
cloudiness.
§ Nuclear
may
be
threatened
by
extreme
weather
events
or
lack
of
water
for
cooling.
Adapta0on
seeks
to
moderate
or
avoid
harm
or
exploit
beneficial
opportuniQes.

5. climate
everyone’s
Climate
Change:
Emission
Reduc0on
business
Adapta0on
op0ons
emissions
from
energy
can
be
achieved
through
a
variety
of
measures:
§ CuXng
fossil
fuel
exist.
Significant
cuts
in
GHG
extrac0on
and
conversion
emissions
§ Switching
to
lower-­‐carbon
fuels
(e.g.,
coal
to
gas)
§ Increasing
transmission
and
distribu0on
energy
efficiency
§ Increasing
use
of
renewable
and
nuclear
genera0on
§ Introducing
carbon
capture
and
storage
(CCS)
§ Reducing
final
energy
demand
Climate
change
presents
increasing
challenges
for
energy
produc0on
and
transmission.

6. climate
everyone’s
Climate
Change:
Mi0ga0on
business
Stabilisa0on
of
emissions
at
levels
compaQble
with
the
internaQonally
agreed
2oC
temperature
target
will
mean
a
fundamental
transforma0on
of
the
energy
industry
worldwide
in
the
next
few
decades.
Incen0vising
investment
in
low-­‐carbon
technologies
will
be
a
key
challenge
for
governments
and
regulators
to
achieve
carbon
reducQon
targets.
Reducing
GHG
emissions
also
brings
important
co-­‐benefits
such
as
improved
health
and
employment,
but
supply
side
miQgaQon
measures
also
carry
risks.
Climate
change
will
affect
the
enQre
energy
sector,
through
impacts
and
through
policy.

7. climate
everyone’s
Climate
Change:
Policy
Framework
business
Low-­‐carbon
electricity
comes
from
processes
or
technologies
that
produce
power
with
substan'ally
lower
amounts
of
carbon
dioxide
emissions
than
is
emiUed
from
convenQonal
fossil
fuel
power
generaQon.
MeeQng
the
2oC
target
implies
swiXly
hal0ng
the
rise
in
emissions
for
the
full
energy
system
and
bringing
them
to
zero
before
the
end
of
the
century,
with
a
likely
need
for
‘negaQve
emissions’
technology.
Governments
may
facilitate
an
increased
use
of
emission
reducQon
opQons
by
creaQng
an
aFrac0ve
fiscal
and
regulatory
framework.
New
technologies
can
be
used
for
efficiency
improvements,
power
genera0on,
extrac0on,
storage,
transmission
and
distribu0on.

8. For
more
informa0on
Cambridge
InsQtute
for
Sustainability
Leadership
ipcc@cisl.cam.ac.uk
Stuart
Neil,
World
Energy
Council
neil@worldenergy.org
European
Climate
FoundaQon
AR5@europeanclimate.org
www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/ipcc
www.worldenergy.org
www.europeanclimate.org