A number of frameworks and tools have been established for this purpose, with some tailored to assess requirements for specific infrastructure categories such as transportation networks, water resources and others. One such tool is the PIEVC Protocol (www.PIEVC.ca).
These climate vulnerability assessments are important. First, they identify the nature and severity of climate risks to infrastructure components. With this knowledge, the engineer can identify areas that are the most vulnerable to climate. The range of vulnerabilities can then be prioritized based upon performance criteria that are critical for the infrastructure and the community that it serves. Prioritization allows for a systematic and targeted risk-reduction approach. This provides infrastructure asset owners with the understanding they need to make adaptations to improve climate resiliency for their assets.
Climate vulnerability assessment, when applied using an established framework such as PIEVC, provides a structured, documented approach. This not only informs adjustments in design, operations and maintenance, but provides the structured evidence of due diligence that climate impacts were considered and assessed in the design process.
A current lack of engineering codes and standards incorporating climate change will likely not excuse the engineer from liabilities from reasonably foreseeable impacts of climate change on infrastructure designs. In conducting a climate vulnerability assessment on their designs, professional engineers not only protect the public interest and the public’s safety, they can also limit their exposure to legal liabilities related to the effects of climate change on infrastructure.
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Conclusion
The engineering profession has thrived because of its ability to respond with solutions for evolving issues. As leaders in innovation, engineers naturally serve as agents of technical advancement and change. Climate change is simply another in a long line of challenges that continue to test the profession. We have been successful in the past because of our technical training, combined with our reputation for innovation and logical problem solving. Climate change is not an issue to be feared and avoided; it is a challenge to meet head-on in the finest traditions of our profession.
Roger Rempel, FEC, P.Eng., is with Stantec Consulting Inc. Joel Nodelman, P.Eng., is with Nodelcorp Consulting Inc. They are faculty instructors for Climate Resilient Systems Training. This article appeared in ES&E’s November/December 2014 issue.
