Miami and other US cities most at risk from disasters exacerbated by global warming are also among those whose high energy consumption is fuelling temperature rise, data from clean-energy company Arcadia Power has shown.
The coastal city of Miami, battered last year by Hurricane Irma, was the least energy-efficient in a sample of 15 cities, with its monthly energy consumption 25 per cent above the national average, the data showed.
Such cities are "shooting themselves in the foot" because their immoderate energy consumption emits avoidable greenhouse gases that are heating up the planet and causing climate change, a statement from Arcadia said.
The Florida city averaged energy consumption per household of 1,125 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month, far exceeding the 2016 national average of 897 kWh.
Miami's above-normal usage could be due to the city's heavy reliance on air-conditioning, which is energy-intensive, said Arcadia spokeswoman Natalie Rizk.
Burning fossil fuels, including to generate electricity, is one of the lead causes of climate change which scientists agree will make freak weather such as Irma more powerful.
Miami's vulnerability to the destructive force of wild weather was evidenced last September when Irma barrelled into south Florida.
Atlanta and Phoenix are also vulnerable to extreme weather made worse by climate change, and whose energy consumption far surpassed the national average, according to Arcadia's data.
Arcadia's ranking was based on the electricity consumption of its customers, who number some 70,000 nationwide.
Though the company's customers are renewable energy users, its data likely approximated behaviour by households dependent on fossil fuel-generated energy, Arcadia said.
Johanna Partin, director of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, said the findings should serve as a "wake-up call", pushing city officials to adopt more stringent energy-saving measures.
