CASE STUDY 1 “Dual responsibility” risk mitigation framework of China Resources Gas As one of China’s largest urban gas operators, China Resources Gas plays a critical role in the nation’s utilities sector. Its 2024 sales volume of 39.9 billion cubic metres represents nearly 10% of total urban consumption. To safeguard its vast network and systemic importance, the company has built a robust management architecture designed to anticipate and mitigate climate risks systematically, which features: –Institutionalized accountability: An enterprise-wide EHS (environment, health and safety) committee provides centralized oversight. Critically, it implements a “dual responsibility” system, making both the party committee leadership and the operational leadership directly accountable for climate safety, with performance tied to official evaluations. –Differentiated risk management: The company conducts specialized risk assessments for climate hazards, categorizing threats into a four-tiered system (blue, yellow, orange, red). This allows for differentiated and proportionate control measures, focusing resources on the most critical vulnerabilities. –Resource and emergency preparedness: A dedicated safety production fund is allocated specifically for the construction and maintenance of climate protection facilities. The company has established a network of emergency response bases, fully stocked with essential equipment such as mobile power generators and flood control sandbags. This physical readiness is matched by human readiness, with regular, comprehensive training drills extending to all employees to cultivate a universal culture of risk awareness and response capability. –Collaborative ecosystem: Recognizing that resilience is a shared responsibility, the company has forged formal mutual aid agreements with local governments and peer enterprises. This synergy between government and business enables the sharing of emergency resources and expertise, enhancing the collective response capacity of an entire region. –Closed-loop learning system: After any climate-related incident, a mandatory debriefing is conducted to identify root causes and formulate corrective actions. These findings and case studies are then integrated into training materials, ensuring that lessons learned are institutionalized and shared across the organization to improve future responses. Source: China Resources Gas.20 CASE STUDY 2 China Huaneng Group’s “monitor-warn-act-recover” risk mitigation framework China Huaneng Group, a major power and heat supplier nationwide, demonstrates how strategic governance translates into highly specific, technology-driven operational protocols across its “monitor-warn-act-recover” framework. This system is designed not just to withstand high-frequency climate risks such as heavy rainfall, typhoons and ice storms, but to maintain critical service delivery throughout them. The company’s approach is built on a foundation of proactive protocols and targeted hazard defence: –Integrated meteorology-energy mechanism: Huaneng has developed a dynamic mechanism that links meteorological disaster monitoring with real-time energy supply and demand management. By tracking data from over 2,000 meteorological stations nationwide, the company can dynamically adjust the operation modes of its power generation units. This ensures that essential electricity loads for public welfare are covered at a rate of 99.95% or higher, even during extreme weather events. –Redundant heat source assurance in cold regions: For regions prone to severe cold, Huaneng has implemented a “redundant heat source assurance plan”. In areas with a single heat source, an emergency heat source is deployed to ensure that any interruption in heating supply can be restored within four hours, minimizing the impact on residents and critical facilities. –Flood and typhoon preparedness: In high-risk areas such as the Yangtze River basin and the southeast coastal regions, Huaneng is developing early warning and response mechanisms for extreme precipitation. This includes pre-emptive reservoir discharge to maintain at least 15% flood control capacity and a strict “wind resistance reinforcement checklist” for coastal power plants. Before typhoons of grade 10 or above, 21 mandatory tasks are completed, such as reinforcing steel roofing and conducting stress tests on wind turbine towers, to ensure plant safety and operational continuity. Building Climate-Resilient Utilities: Lessons from China and Future Pathways 11

Building Climate Resilient Utilities 2025