Resilience of UK infrastructure and climate predictions - Revision history

Editor at 16:09, 8 November 2021

2021-11-08T16:09:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:09, 8 November 2021
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	--[[User:Institution_of_Civil_Engineers\|Institution of Civil Engineers]]		--[[User:Institution_of_Civil_Engineers\|Institution of Civil Engineers]]

−	= Related articles on Designing Buildings ~~Wiki~~ =	+	= Related articles on Designing Buildings =

	* A systems approach to net-zero.		* A systems approach to net-zero.
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	* ICE articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.		* ICE articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.
	* Infrastructure.		* Infrastructure.
		+	* Resilient infrastructure diversity and equity scorecard.

	[[Category:DCN_Commentary]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]		[[Category:DCN_Commentary]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]

Designing Buildings at 07:27, 26 February 2021

2021-02-26T07:27:41Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:27, 26 February 2021
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	* Infrastructure.		* Infrastructure.

−	[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]	+	[[Category:DCN_Commentary]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]

Designing Buildings at 09:24, 31 August 2020

2020-08-31T09:24:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:24, 31 August 2020
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	= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =		= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

		+	* A systems approach to net-zero.
	* Civil engineers must report climate-change risk.		* Civil engineers must report climate-change risk.
	* Climate Change Act.		* Climate Change Act.

Editor at 14:11, 6 August 2020

2020-08-06T14:11:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:11, 6 August 2020
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	* ICE articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.		* ICE articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.
	* Infrastructure.		* Infrastructure.
−	* Target emission rate TER.

	[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]		[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]

Editor at 14:07, 6 August 2020

2020-08-06T14:07:20Z

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	* Climate Change Act.		* Climate Change Act.
	* Global warming and the tipping point precipice.		* Global warming and the tipping point precipice.
−	* Globe temperature.
	* Greenhouse gases.		* Greenhouse gases.
	* Green infrastructure.		* Green infrastructure.

Editor at 14:05, 6 August 2020

2020-08-06T14:05:59Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:05, 6 August 2020
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	= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =		= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

		+	* Civil engineers must report climate-change risk.
	* Climate Change Act.		* Climate Change Act.
	* Global warming and the tipping point precipice.		* Global warming and the tipping point precipice.

Editor at 14:03, 6 August 2020

2020-08-06T14:03:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:03, 6 August 2020
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	= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =		= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

		+	* Climate Change Act.
		+	* Global warming and the tipping point precipice.
		+	* Globe temperature.
		+	* Greenhouse gases.
	* Green infrastructure.		* Green infrastructure.
	* How engineering organisations can adapt successfully to climate change.		* How engineering organisations can adapt successfully to climate change.
		+	* ICE articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.
	* Infrastructure.		* Infrastructure.
	* Target emission rate TER.		* Target emission rate TER.

	[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]		[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]

Editor at 13:19, 6 August 2020

2020-08-06T13:19:20Z

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−	[[File:GreenInfrastructure.jpg]]	+	[[File:GreenInfrastructure.jpg\|link=File:GreenInfrastructure.jpg]]

	= Introduction =		= Introduction =
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	-----		-----
−	This article originally appeared on The Infrastructure Blog on the ICE website. It was written by Joseph Marner, Civil engineer, WSP, President's Future Leader and published on 5 August 2020.	+	This article originally appeared on [https://www.ice.org.uk/news-and-insight/the-infrastructure-blog/august-2020/infrastructure-resilience-and-climate-predictions The Infrastructure Blog] on the ICE website. It was written by Joseph Marner, Civil engineer, WSP, President's Future Leader and published on 5 August 2020.

	--[[User:Institution_of_Civil_Engineers\|Institution of Civil Engineers]]		--[[User:Institution_of_Civil_Engineers\|Institution of Civil Engineers]]

	= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =		= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =
		+
		+	* Green infrastructure.
		+	* How engineering organisations can adapt successfully to climate change.
		+	* Infrastructure.
		+	* Target emission rate TER.

	[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]		[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]

Editor at 13:13, 6 August 2020

2020-08-06T13:13:24Z

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		+	[[File:GreenInfrastructure.jpg]]
		+
	= Introduction =		= Introduction =

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	-----		-----
−	~~Updated: 05 August~~, 2020	+	This article originally appeared on The Infrastructure Blog on the ICE website. It was written by Joseph Marner, Civil engineer, WSP, President's Future Leader and published on 5 August 2020.
		+
		+	--[[User:Institution_of_Civil_Engineers\|Institution of Civil Engineers]]
		+
		+	= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

−	~~Author~~: ~~Joseph Marner, Civil engineer, WSP, President's Future Leader~~	+	[[Category:Sustainability]] [[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]

Editor at 13:01, 6 August 2020

2020-08-06T13:01:45Z

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	Resilience can be defined as the capacity to prepare for - and respond to - hazards or to recover after an extreme or difficult situation. The climate projections suggest that some weather events considered rare in 2020 will become much more likely in future.		Resilience can be defined as the capacity to prepare for - and respond to - hazards or to recover after an extreme or difficult situation. The climate projections suggest that some weather events considered rare in 2020 will become much more likely in future.

−	This has significant consequences for infrastructure: extreme events that cause disruption – rainfall overwhelming flood defences or extreme heat reducing railway capacity – might happen seldom enough to be acceptable today but will be unacceptably frequent in coming decades. As a result, infrastructure will need to be designed and operated in a way that copes better with today’s weather extremes and is resilient to the more extreme extremes of the future.	+	== This has significant consequences for infrastructure ==

−	~~A more diverse power generation~~ infrastructure ~~would meet our electricity needs~~	+	Extreme events that cause disruption – rainfall overwhelming flood defences or extreme heat reducing railway capacity – might happen seldom enough to be acceptable today but will be unacceptably frequent in coming decades. As a result, infrastructure will need to be designed and operated in a way that copes better with current weather extremes and is resilient to the more extreme extremes of the future.

−	Adapting might take the form of building new assets: more flood defences in the right places would protect us from future storms, more reservoir capacity would help the nation get through future droughts, and more diverse power generation infrastructure would meet our electricity needs through more variable future weather patterns.	+	== Adapting might take the form of building new assets ==

−	~~Retro-fitting existing infrastructure could also contribute: Upgrading physical railway infrastructure could mean the network continues to operate normally~~ in ~~warmer temperatures. All of these options and any others~~ would ~~need suitable policy in place to facilitate their planning~~, ~~design~~ and ~~operation~~.	+	More flood defences in the right places would protect us from future storms, more reservoir capacity would help the nation get through future droughts, and more diverse power generation infrastructure would meet our electricity needs through more variable future weather patterns.

−	~~So how do we adapt our policy?~~	+	== Retro-fitting existing infrastructure could also contribute ==

−	Place-based approaches	+	Upgrading physical railway infrastructure could mean the network continues to operate normally in warmer temperatures. All of these options and any others would need suitable policy in place to facilitate their planning, design and operation.
		+
		+	= So how do we adapt our policy? =
		+
		+	== Place-based approaches ==

	With more spatially detailed (higher-resolution) data sets available, infrastructure can be better tailored to specific locations. This is something the Met Office termed a “place-based approach” and the parliamentarians present seemed to be enthusiastic about moving towards planning infrastructure in this way.		With more spatially detailed (higher-resolution) data sets available, infrastructure can be better tailored to specific locations. This is something the Met Office termed a “place-based approach” and the parliamentarians present seemed to be enthusiastic about moving towards planning infrastructure in this way.

−	Infrastructure bespoke to local conditions could be more effective than a blanket, UK-wide approach. An example was given of how one of the UK’s leading supermarkets has been known to use climate data to inform decisions about exactly when to market seasonal foods in different UK regions. It begs the question; if supermarkets can benefit, shouldn’t infrastructure?	+	Infrastructure bespoke to local conditions could be more effective than a blanket, UK-wide approach. An example was given of how one of the UK’s leading supermarkets has been known to use climate data to inform decisions about exactly when to market seasonal foods in different UK regions. It begs the question, if supermarkets can benefit, shouldn’t infrastructure?

	This could be applied to infrastructure in a similar way, for example by varying preference for different forms of renewable energy generation on the basis of the location-specific climate projections over the coming decades.		This could be applied to infrastructure in a similar way, for example by varying preference for different forms of renewable energy generation on the basis of the location-specific climate projections over the coming decades.
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	It was the general consensus that current policy and regulations are not conducive to such regional variations across most infrastructure sectors, where national or international standards prevail. Whilst the ISO 14090 series of standards (the world’s first international standard on climate adaptation) was brought up as an example of how we might be starting to head in the right direction, it was agreed that this is one of the key areas for improvement if we are to unlock the potential of climate data-driven infrastructure decisions.		It was the general consensus that current policy and regulations are not conducive to such regional variations across most infrastructure sectors, where national or international standards prevail. Whilst the ISO 14090 series of standards (the world’s first international standard on climate adaptation) was brought up as an example of how we might be starting to head in the right direction, it was agreed that this is one of the key areas for improvement if we are to unlock the potential of climate data-driven infrastructure decisions.

−	Science must be better fed back into policy	+	== Science must be better fed back into policy ==

	The feedback from emerging science into policymaking was also discussed. It’s thought that at present, the policy process itself is slow to adapt. The presentation by the Met Office highlighted that weather and climate science is uncertain, and projections are still evolving. However, there is a lot that is known about possible future climates that can be useful for decision making.		The feedback from emerging science into policymaking was also discussed. It’s thought that at present, the policy process itself is slow to adapt. The presentation by the Met Office highlighted that weather and climate science is uncertain, and projections are still evolving. However, there is a lot that is known about possible future climates that can be useful for decision making.
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	In contrast, the experiences of those present suggested that policy was decided and set in stone too early in the infrastructure lifecycle, and consequently the opportunity to adapt infrastructure strategy to emerging science is frozen out. This led to the suggestion that policy could be designed to be more agile as future climate projections become available.		In contrast, the experiences of those present suggested that policy was decided and set in stone too early in the infrastructure lifecycle, and consequently the opportunity to adapt infrastructure strategy to emerging science is frozen out. This led to the suggestion that policy could be designed to be more agile as future climate projections become available.

−	Infrastructure must not be left behind	+	== Infrastructure must not be left behind ==

	With some degree of climate change inevitable, it’s as important as ever that our industry keeps pace with the change. It would be disastrous if we didn’t; our infrastructure would not be fit for purpose and society would suffer as a result.		With some degree of climate change inevitable, it’s as important as ever that our industry keeps pace with the change. It would be disastrous if we didn’t; our infrastructure would not be fit for purpose and society would suffer as a result.
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	The Met Office’s work presents a deeper insight into an alarming truth but also valuable projections that are accurate enough to allow us to plan for it. To do so effectively, we need to combine the best technical solutions with appropriate policy to enable the development of infrastructure fit for the future.		The Met Office’s work presents a deeper insight into an alarming truth but also valuable projections that are accurate enough to allow us to plan for it. To do so effectively, we need to combine the best technical solutions with appropriate policy to enable the development of infrastructure fit for the future.

−	*ICE welcomes guests to share their views about infrastructure policy issues on the Infrastructure Blog. These views are the views of the individual. If you are interested in writing for the Infrastructure Blog, please email policy@ice.org.uk. ICE reserves the right not to publish articles that have been submitted.	+	-----
−		+
	Updated: 05 August, 2020		Updated: 05 August, 2020

	Author: Joseph Marner, Civil engineer, WSP, President's Future Leader		Author: Joseph Marner, Civil engineer, WSP, President's Future Leader