OSCE workshop kicks off work on building climate-resilient energy systems across four OSCE regions

Climate change poses significant challenges for energy systems across the OSCE area. To help decision-makers and energy stakeholders build resilience, on 8 and 9 May 2024 in Vienna, the OSCE hosted the workshop “Building Climate-Resilient Energy Systems in the OSCE region”. Gathering over 50 experts from 12 different countries representing Central Asia, Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean, the workshop served as a platform to present the findings of the report assessing climate change risks to energy sectors and preparedness levels of the beneficiary countries, and to jointly identify ways forward.

As the energy sector undergoes massive transformations, building resilience into investment decisions and operations will be key to securing the energy transition. Participants across all regions noted that climate change poses significant challenges to the security of their critical energy infrastructure and transition plans.

As a result of the deliberations, the OSCE, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory and in collaboration with national experts, agreed on a pathway to develop downscaled climate modelling initiatives tailored to each region. Designed to project locally relevant data on future climate conditions, the model outputs will be translated to inform energy sector measures, and national energy experts will be trained on climate data applications for science-backed long term energy planning.

The workshop took place within the framework of the OSCE project Mitigating Climate Change Threats to the Energy Sector in the OSCE Region, funded by Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United States.