New UK publication, 'Engineering the Future' calls for major infrastructure changes due to climate change

The Royal Academy of Engineering (UK): In a report published today, an alliance representing nearly half a million engineers calls for a radical shake up of the way national infrastructure is planned, developed and protected. The report calls for a more joined up process of decision making in Government and a new approach to sharing information in the commercial sector. Without such approaches, the impacts of climate change could have severely detrimental effects on UK society and the economy by crippling vital services such as electricity, roads and broadband.

…The report, Infrastructure, Engineering and Climate Change Adaptation - Ensuring services in an uncertain future, examines vulnerabilities in energy, transport, communications and water systems and identifies vulnerabilities that affect the infrastructure system as a whole. It examines 'cascade failures', when failure in one service has a domino effect on others, will cause major disruption and have significant economic impact if action is not taken to build resilience into vital infrastructure networks. The report identifies ways to prevent and prepare for such events. The findings are part of a national programme that will eventually lead to the Government's adaptation strategy.

Speaking on behalf of Engineering the Future, Lord Browne of Madingley (President of the Royal Academy of Engineering) says "Climate change is a genuine risk. While efforts must continue towards mitigating its effects, we need to think very carefully about how we adapt to the changing climatic conditions that are anticipated over the coming century. In the long term protecting our critical national infrastructure is ultimately about protecting the UK economy and its future growth."

One of 20 findings in the report focuses on how the public may have to adjust their expectations regarding the continuity of services. The UK has already experienced the impact of flash floods and recent extreme weather has contributed to negative growth in the UK. Extreme weather events may occur with increasing frequency in the future. With the combined pressures of a changing climate, carbon reduction measures and increasing interdependencies placing different demands upon infrastructure systems, resilient services will come at a high cost. It is unlikely society will be willing to pay the increasing costs of "always on" services. So a debate is needed on the balance between acceptable levels of disruption verses higher costs….

A rail shed in North York, 1970, shot by Roger Cornfoot, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license