Early adaptation to heat waves and future reduction of air-conditioning energy use in Paris

Vincent Viguié (), Aude Lemonsu, Stephane Hallegatte, Anne-Lise Beaulant, Colette Marchadier, Valéry Masson (), Grégoire Pigeon () and Jean-Luc Salagnac
Additional contact information
Vincent Viguié: CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Abstract Some actions intended to adapt to climate change may do more harm than good, especially when they consume energy, making it more difficult to shift to decarbonized energy, or when, in meeting the needs of one group of people, they increase the vulnerability of others. Heat wave risk provides a typical example: air conditioning (AC) equipment may trigger large energy consumption and worsen outdoor heat stress. Alternative adaptation strategies exist, but it is not clear whether they can prevent the massive use of AC. Here, with an interdisciplinary modeling platform, taking Paris as a case study, we provide a first quantified analysis of the efficiency of adaptation strategies (large scale urban greening, building insulation policy, and generalized behavioral changes in AC use) in reducing future potential AC need. We find that even ambitious strategies do not appear sufficient to totally replace AC and ensure thermal comfort, under a median climate change scenario. They can, however, reduce AC energy use by half during heat waves and compensate for the heat released to the outdoor environment. Our results show that adaptation actions, implemented early, may play a key role if we are to remain on a low-carbon pathway.

Date: 2020-07-02
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Environmental Research Letters, 2020, 15 (7), pp.075006. ⟨10.1088/1748-9326/ab6a24⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04501701

DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab6a24

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().