A system and method for altering the effective operating frequency of an electronic system (e.g., an IC) in response to changes in temperature or current provides controlled and deliberate performance degradation. Reducing the effective operating frequency at high temperatures allows an IC to maintain a relatively stable power consumption. A first embodiment of the invention includes a temperature transducer, an Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter, a select generator, and a clock frequency divider. The temperature transducer measures the temperature, which is converted by the A/D converter to a digital value. The digital temperature value drives the select generator, which generates one or more select signals. The select signals control the clock frequency divider to produce a clock signal with an effective clock frequency that depends on the measured temperature. According to a second embodiment of the invention, a current transducer is used instead of a temperature transducer.