Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation

Abstract

The great preponderance of scientific evidence suggests that the planet is warming at an accelerating rate due in large measure to the use of fossil fuels. Heretofore, most of the discussion about global warming has focused on limiting or mitigating climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), most notably carbon dioxide, but also methane, nitrous oxides, and other gases. No matter what policies are eventually adopted and implemented by the world community, however, the impacts of increasing levels of GHGs will continue to be felt for decades to come. These include the northward migration of pests and disease vectors; changes in local and regional weather patterns, such as decreasing precipitation in the already arid Southwest and increasingly intense storms in the Midwest and Northeast; extended heat waves with concomitant effects on air quality, health, and material longevity; and sea level rise that will impact coastal communities and ecosystems. Nowhere will the impacts of climate change be greater and the need for adaptive responses more apparent than in the built infrastructure, especially the vast network of highways, bridges, tunnels, railroads, transit systems, airports, ports and harbors, and pipelines. Although the focus of this paper is on transportation, most of these concerns will also affect other infrastructure segments, such as power generation and transmission facilities and water and wastewater distribution and treatment systems.