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30) Impacts of Climate Change and Global Energy Transitions on Community Security in Arctic Alaska

Presentation Date
Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 12:00pm - Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 3:00pm
Authors

Author

Abstract

Impacts of Climate Change ThumbnailAlaska, with the highest share of economic contributions by the oil and gas industry among U.S. states, has an economy largely driven by fossil fuel production. Global fossil fuel demand could decline significantly if countries accomplish the energy transitions needed to meet climate change mitigation targets; this will therefore have major implications for Alaska’s economy and for the wellbeing of communities that rely on state and local revenue from the oil and gas industry. Arctic Alaska is also particularly vulnerable to climate change as the Arctic experiences warming at over four times the global rate. Climate change could impact multiple important factors for the region including access to offshore fossil resources due to thinning sea ice, local energy demand, Inupiat communities’ subsistence food systems, and others. In this analysis, we assess the impacts of climate change and global energy transitions on community security including energy, food, and economic systems in two Arctic Alaskan regions, the North Slope Borough and the Northwest Arctic Borough. We explore how these regions’ differing access to oil and gas revenue, current energy system characteristics, and other factors may impact their long-term vulnerability to global change. 

Category
Energy Resources
Funding Program Area(s)