New CIWEM Climate Change Stress Testing Guidance out now

New CIWEM Climate Change Stress Testing guidance out now

2023 was the hottest year on record, approaching 1.5°C increase compared to pre-industrial temperatures. Preparing businesses and infrastructure to climate risks is therefore crucial.

Climate change is no longer a future problem. Flooding, heatwaves, draughts and other climate-related disasters are disturbing supply chains and working conditions, as well as damaging buildings and threatening the environment we rely on for so many services.

This guidance aims to provide useful, non-technical guidance for organisations that could benefit from climate change stress testing. This practice is defined as “a process for assessing the ability of a system to maintain a certain level of functionality under unfavourable conditions, and understanding the consequences if this functionality is not maintained” in this case, the conditions are climate-related risks.

The document will guide you through the fundamental steps to undertake stress testing for a constructive scenario and useful interpretation of the results obtained. It also covers definitions of a selection of concepts necessary to understand risk, such as tipping points and feedback effects.

This climate change stress testing guidance has been developed by CIWEM’s Climate Change specialist panel. Thanks to Ian Corder for leading its development and to Cara Labuschagne, Richard Pagett, Maria Sunyer, Ian Tarplee and Anna Tuddenham for their contributions.

Read the Climate Change Stress Testing guidance now.

This article was published on 06 March 2024.