The Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC (2013) confirms that due the inertia of the Earth's biogeophysical system, a considerable degree of climate change will be unavoidable even if ambitious efforts will be made to curb greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades. The report also projects increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in most world regions. These trends will possibly increase old and spawn new threats for energy installations and infrastructure through the whole energy chain. This presentation addresses the related scientific and policy issues.

The policy relevance is apparent from the fact that, according to the 2012 World Energy Outlook of the International Energy Agency, globally USD 37 trillion (in 2011 dollars) will need to be invested in energy systems between 2012 and 2035.Most new installations will be subject to significantly changing weather patterns over their multi-decade lifetime. Over 60% of this investment will be required in non-OECD countries to satisfy fast increasing energy demand. It will be particularly important to implement these investments in a climate-robust manner.

The presentation will follow the structure of the energy supply chain from primary energy sources / resources, extraction and transport, through conversion into secondary energy forms, and then to distribution for end-use as final energy. It provides an assessment of impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on energy installations and energy supply infrastructures; technological options and policy strategies to reduce their exposure and vulnerability and to increase their resilience to climate- and weather-related hazards.