August 2010: The World Bank has published a Hands-on Energy Adaptation Toolkit (HEAT), in an effort to support countries in assessing their vulnerabilities and adaptation options in the energy sector.

The toolkit was piloted in Albania and Uzbekistan, and was successful in raising awareness among key stakeholders and initiating dialogue on energy sector adaptation. HEAT uses a bottom-up, stakeholder-based, qualitative/semi-quantitative risk-assessment approach to discuss and identify risks, adaptation measures, and their costs and benefits. HEAT’s climate vulnerability assessment framework puts stakeholders at the heart of the decision-making process and involves: climate risk screening of the energy sector to identify and prioritize hazards, current vulnerabilities, and risks from projected climate changes out to the year 2050; identification of adaptation options to reduce overall vulnerability; and a high-level cost-benefit analysis of key physical adaptation options.

HEAT also helps identify: key direct risks to energy supply and additional research needs to better understand the implications of extreme climatic events for the energy sector; and potential indirect impacts, such as possible adaptation actions in the agriculture sector that may affect energy supply. [HEAT Website]