Adaptation to Climate Change: Revisiting Infrastructure Norms

Description

As defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, adaptation includes a set of actions to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities in response to climate change. To date, little research has addressed public policy options to frame the nation’s approach to adapt to a changing climate. In light of scientific evidence of extreme and unpredictable climate change, prudent policy requires consideration of what to do if markets and people fail to anticipate these changes, or are constrained in their ability to react. This issue brief is one in a series that results from the second phase of a domestic adaptation research project conducted by Resources for the Future. The briefs are primarily intended for use by decisionmakers in confronting the complex and difficult task of effectively adapting the United States to climate change impacts, but may also offer insight and value to scholars and the general public. In almost all cases, some adaptive capacity exists to respond to these threats through both public and private sector actions, but adaptive capacity can be significantly enhanced in the public sector by adopting three key policy reforms. • First, although most public infrastructure is maintained as a capital asset, with annual operating, maintenance, and repair functions and a periodic replacement schedule, adopting a formal asset management approach could yield immediate benefits and provide a framework for incorporating climate forecasts to enhance adaptive capacity. • Second, the location of major capital infrastructure should be mapped against those areas of the country considered most vulnerable to climate stress, and that information should be used to guide current and future investment in public infrastructure. These results should be actively publicized to most effectively signal the private sector about the expectations and limits of federal infrastructure provision. • Third, efforts must begin to update infrastructure design standards to ensure that future infrastructure capital is more resilient to anticipated climate change and extreme events.

 

Neumann, J., 2009. Adaptation to Climate Change: Revisiting Infrastructure Norms. Resources for the Future. Issue Brief 09‐15, Washington, USA

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