Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure - UN CC:Learn

Chapter 5: What a Country Should Think About and Then Do to Address Climate Change and Infrastructure RisksPeople-centred viewThe last conceptual element to consider is people. People with technical skills plan, design and build infrastructure.While perhaps an underrated component of the infrastructure and climate change picture, the collaborativeengagement of professionals required for decision-making is a key ingredient to the adaptation process.Furthermore, infrastructure provides significant benefits to people. Countries need to engage stakeholderswho benefit from using infrastructure to assist in ensuring sustainable climate proofing. Considering how bestto engage these individuals or target groups via the best ‘entry points’ for adaptive intervention is important.Focus questionsThe Australian National Adaptation Research Plan (NARP) for Settlements and Infrastructure provides aseries of focus questions that target what a country needs to conceptualize regarding climate change,infrastructure and settlements.These 11 focus questions 1 (grouped around conceptual thinking; governance, institutions, standards andcodes for planning; spatial variance; information and knowledge sharing; and strategic engagement andsynergy building) provide a useful tool for shaping the thinking around conceptual and practical issuesfacing nations with respect to climate proofing infrastructure.The following is a list of the focus questions:1. How can national climate change governance arrangements be improved to facilitateinfrastructure planning processes and outcomes that incorporate adaptation to climate change?2. What are the particular infrastructure sectoral needs in a changing climate and how can these beeffectively harmonized across and between sectors?3. What sectors of society are most vulnerable and least able to adapt to climate change and what roledoes infrastructure play in this respect? What is the nature of those vulnerabilities and the barriersto adaptation? How can physical, social, economic and institutional factors reduce vulnerability andincrease adaptive capacity?4. To what extent can local and traditional knowledge be best applied to enhance infrastructureresilience to climate change?5. What is the vulnerability of infrastructure (individual and interlinked critical sectors) to existingand predicted climate change conditions at various spatial scales, considering average and extremeweather conditions (i.e. disasters)? How can climate-induced service or structural failure thresholdsfor infrastructure and services be integrated effectively into decision-making, in light of the inherentuncertainty in climate projections?6. What impacts on key infrastructure could have downstream or cascading impacts during climatedisasters, and how might these impacts be avoided?7. What infrastructure design standards and planning periods for the various infrastructurecomponents should be adopted for particular locations and over what time frames?1Adapted from Thom B, Cane J, Cox R,Farrell C, Hayes P, Kay R, Kearns A, LowChoy D, McAneney J, McDonald J, NolanM, Norman B, Nott J, Smith T, (2010)National Climate Change AdaptationResearch Plan for Settlements andInfrastructure, National Climate ChangeAdaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast,60pp. (Australia) http://www.nccarf.edu.au/national-adaptation-research-plansettlements-and-infrastructure8. How can information, knowledge diffusion and engagement with civil society and the privatesector be optimized for both adaptation implementation in those sectors and to supportadaptation actions by government with respect to infrastructure?9. What are the other cross-cutting adaptation issues that infrastructure will affect? For example,gender or consideration of vulnerable people and places?58Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Conference Proceedings