Infrastructure Sustainability and Design

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Climate Change and Infrastructure

Richard John

NATIONAL ENERGY FOUNDATION, UK

CLIMATE CHANGE is a major risk factor that long-term infrastructure developments need to address. The world has already warmed (see Figure 1.1) and the rate of change is likely to increase significantly. Climate change risks are both direct and indirect (see Figure 1.2). There is a need for infrastructure projects to adapt to a changing climate and, with the developments they serve, to mitigate the effects of climate change through the reduction of carbon emissions.

1.1	Mean surface temperature change for the period 2000 to 2009 relative to the average temperature ...