Breaking Silos - How to achieve climate resilience  

The Breaking Silos series between ICE and CIWEM continues, as we invite Early Career Professionals Meredith Hanson (CIWEM) and Marcus Rodin (ICE) to explain the importance of collaboration in the climate resilience challenge.

(Picture left: Meredith Hanson, pictured right: Marcus Rodin)

Society is feeling the effects of climate change through extreme weather events such as increased storm activity and drought. How can we prepare for future climate change impacts?

What is climate resilience?

Climate resilience refers to the capability of withstanding, adapting to and recovering from the impacts of climate change. As 3.6 billion people are highly susceptible to the consequences of climate change, there has never been a more pressing time to consider the current and projected impacts of climate change. Whilst we must continue to strive for carbon mitigation, we must also focus on preparing for the impacts of the global crisis, striving to bring resilience to society and the infrastructure that we depend on.

So, what can we do? We have identified five ways that all engineers and environmental professionals can strive to integrate climate resilience.

1. Closing the knowledge gap

Climate change presents a complex challenge for engineering and environmental design, requiring solutions outside of the typical investment criteria. Variables can often be known unknowns or unknown unknowns. One example of a known unknown is that is unclear whether climate change will affect wind speed and wind storms, with no clear trends currently detected. Adaptation plans therefore often provide recommendations rather than mandatory requirements for climate resilient design.

To incorporate resilience into designs, we must play their part in closing design knowledge gaps. This sharing of knowledge should include:

• Educating others - Using professional forums or platforms like LinkedIn, to share best practice examples and blockers. A growing dataset will make it easier to communicate the “why” and the “how” for climate resilient infrastructure.

• Maximising the use of technology - Utilising advanced technologies such as digital twins or Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to stress test the resilience of new urban planning.

• Training and collaboration - Engage in CPD opportunities to empower individuals to influence decisions and become leaders of change.

What will you do today to close the knowledge gap?

2. Resilience vs overdesign

With large proportions of the existing UK infrastructure expected to ‘stay up’ much longer than the original intended design life, there is the need to focus on how designers can prolong operational use. A balance must be made between designing robust, resilient infrastructure with lean design that minimises embodied carbon. Climate resilience and net zero must be considered in tandem. For example, with climate change causing clay shrinkage, shallow structural foundations are at risk. A balance must be struck between the embodied carbon of building deeper foundations, with the need to provide resilience against clay shrinkage. Building a little deeper may be more expensive, but it can avoid disruptive remedial work in the future.

To help sustain existing assets, designers should ensure that all relevant information is available for future owners/tenants, including details of materials, carbon data and the potential for re-use or recycling of materials at the end of the infrastructure lifespan.

Next time you make a design decision question – is this resilience or overdesign?

3. Nature based Solutions (NbS)

Nature plays an essential role in resilience building for climate change. Nature based Solutions (NbS) refer to the restoration and safeguarding of land and marine ecosystems. A key purpose of NbS is for decarbonisation, however they are also successful in promoting climate resilience.

For example, increased flood risk can be addressed through restoration of wetlands and floodplains whilst the establishment of green roofs, street trees and urban parks increase biodiversity in cities and manage the effects of heatwaves in urban environments. NbS can be effective in a range of socio-ecological settings, whilst generating various socio-environmental benefits including job creation, economic development and biodiversity conservation.

However, lack of awareness and education regarding NbS inhibits climate resilience benefits. The IPCC states that 'knowledge is key', and schemes must be guided by ‘local and indigenous knowledge, scientific understanding and practical expertise’. Furthermore, NbS require a diversity of investment from stakeholders. In 2022, 83% of all NbS investment came from governments, limiting scope and resilience of NbS schemes. The success of using nature to address climate change is dependent on knowledge and investment.

Will you consider a nature-based solution in your next project?

4. Investment in less economically developed countries

More technical and financial investment is needed in less economically developed countries to ensure climate resilience. It is widely recognised that the climate crisis disproportionately impacts less economically developed countries (LEDCs). The World Economic Forum reports that whilst the 74 lowest income countries emit a tenth of the world's greenhouse gases, they have experienced eight times as many natural disasters in the past 10 years compared to the 1980s as a result of climate change. Furthermore, climate change compounds existing challenges in these countries related to health, hunger, water scarcity, and forced climate migration.

It’s critical that as more economically developed countries (MEDCs) emit significantly more greenhouse gases than LEDCs, they should provide increased financial and technical investment for climate resilience schemes worldwide.

One example of increased financial investment from MEDCs is the United Nations (UN) Race to Resilience Campaign. The UN Race to Resilience Campaign, with 34 partners across 127 countries, seeks to make 4 billion people more resilient to climate change by 2030. One example of the campaign's work in an LEDC is an agroforestry scheme in Suriname, repairing degraded land through sustainable coconut farming – enhancing biodiversity, improving soil health and conserving water to create more resilient environments that offer sustainable economic opportunities.

Can you join a campaign or use your platform to influence change?

5. Individual action - a shared responsibility

Whilst the above arguments highlight the need for national and global multi-stakeholder collaboration to address funding issues and improve resilience knowledge, it’s important not to forget the scope and responsibility we have as individuals to make ourselves, and our homes more resilient to the impact of climate change. For example, in the UK we are experiencing increased flood risk as a result of climate change. Therefore, a property at risk of fluvial or surface water flooding may consider installing Property Flood Resilience measures – including flood doors, barriers and non-return valves. Re-fitting interior furnishings to those that have greater ‘recoverability’, such as stone floors, raising plug sockets and installing flood resilient kitchen units, will reduce the time that homeowners are out of their homes due to flooding. Furthermore, installing garden SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) may reduce flood risk further, through attenuation areas, swales and increased infiltration. However, it is important to note that affordability should be considered when proposing individual action to increase climate resilience.

How can you take action to make your home or community more climate resilient?

A step back to look at the bigger picture

As an industry, we must approach infrastructure challenges differently, with heatwaves and flooding already showcasing the vulnerabilities of existing assets worldwide. A shift is required to designing based on experience, as well as calculated projections of the future. Taking a step-back to consider a project’s future readiness presents designers with significant opportunities to create innovative and sustainable assets, which are financially sustainable and work with nature. Understanding this shared responsibility to knowledge, design and funding will encourage stronger climate resilience needed for the decades to come.

We have provided five key areas that we feel will really make a difference in achieving climate resilience and we believe engineers and environmental professionals have a strong role to play. It is crucial that early career professionals have a platform to voice their views on the challenges within the industry, and we hope that you will amplify our voice.

Stay tuned for the next Breaking Silos article – “Shifting Mindsets” …