Energy infrastructure around the world is under pressure. From freezing winters in Texas to heatwaves across South Asia, extreme weather is disrupting electricity grids, leaving millions without power and highlighting a critical vulnerability: our energy systems are not resilient enough to withstand the changing climate.
In a recent correspondence in Nature Energy, researchers Dr Scott Thacker, Dr Raghav Pant, and Prof Jim Hall from the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at the University of Oxford, along with Dr Daniel Adshead from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and Dr Francesco Fuso Nerini, from both the ECI and KTH, warn that climate change is putting energy systems under growing financial as well as physical strain. They describe how repeated disruptions erode revenues, weaken investor confidence, and increase reliance on costly stop-gap solutions in many low- and middle-income countries.
Prof Hall said:
The transition to cheap renewable energy services in low- and middle-income countries is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change. In this new article in Nature Energy, we argue that climate-related failures of energy networks initiate a ‘vicious circle’ in which services become so unreliable that energy users stop using (and paying for) the system – often opting for more expensive and more polluting alternatives – whilst climate risks and costly repairs drive up the cost of capital for new investment.
"Breaking that vicious circle involves building in resilience during energy system planning and an ongoing commitment to asset management throughout the life of a system. We are developing datasets and tools in the FCDO Climate Compatible Growth research programme to make this happen.”
Dr Nerini added:
Typical energy planning tools—like optimisation models for electricity systems planning or geospatial energy access tools—tend to overlook the risks that extreme climate events pose to energy infrastructure. As researchers, we can develop new methods and tools that explicitly account for climate risks, to support that future energy planning is both more resilient and better prepared for the realities of a changing climate.”
The researchers say that resilience needs to be at the heart of energy planning, regulation, and financing. This includes designing both individual infrastructure assets and entire energy networks to withstand future climate impacts, setting mandatory performance standards, and investing in maintenance and asset management. Modern tools, from geospatial data to predictive maintenance systems, can help operators identify vulnerabilities before they lead to failure.
The team also emphasises the role of data and finance. By quantifying climate risks and linking investments to resilience, governments and multilateral development banks can direct funds to projects that truly withstand extreme events. Disclosure frameworks, such as those promoted by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, can give investors confidence while encouraging better risk management.
Ultimately, building climate-resilient energy systems is not just about avoiding outages—it benefits everyone. Governments gain reliable service delivery, investors secure long-term returns, and communities get access to safe, dependable, and inclusive energy.
The researchers highlight that now is the time to break the cycle: by embedding resilience in design, planning, and finance, we can protect energy systems—and the people who rely on them—from the escalating impacts of climate change.
Read the correspondence in Nature Energy.