Adapting Transportation to Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events:

a Trans-Atlantic Perspective

The increasing frequency, intensity and duration of extreme weather events are putting transportation systems under greater stress.   This is creating the need for more thorough assessments of the vulnerability of these systems and more research on the climate-proofing of transportation infrastructure and services.  Both subjects were discussed at a symposium jointly organised by TRB, US DoT and the European Commission in June 2016 in Brussels.  45 invited specialists in this field from Europe and North America spent two days discussing weather-related threats to transportation and adaptation options.  They did this in the context of three climatic phenomena:  rising sea level / storm surges, excess precipitation / river flooding and extreme heat / droughts. With the help of real-world and hypothetical case studies, they examined what can be done before, during and after such events to make transportation systems more resilient.

This session will summarise the key outputs from the symposium, drawing examples from the US and Europe and exploring the implications for future transportation research.

Convenors: Alan McKinnon, Kuehne Logistics University, Hamburg

                    Chair of Adaptation Symposium Planning Committee

 Richard Wright

 Vice Chair of Adaptation Symposium Planning Committee

Introduction to the US-EU Transport Symposium series and 2016 Symposium in Brussels

Robert Missen, European Commission

Neil Pedersen, TRB

Alasdair Cain, US Department for Transportation

Overview of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Donald Wuebbles,

Harry E. Preble Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois

Adaptation and Resilience in the Transportation Sector

Climatic risks, adaptation and resilience in the transportation sector: an overview

Gerry Schwartz, formerly Jacobs / Sverdrup Civil Inc.

Preparing transportation infrastructure for rising sea level and storm surges

Jeffrey Western, Western Management and Consulting

Managing transportation disruptions during periods of excessive rainfall

Jennifer Jacobs, University of New Hampshire

Improving the resilience of transportation systems during periods of extreme heat

Mike Meyer, Georgia Institute of Technology

Alan O’Connor, Trinity College Dublin

Conclusions of the Brussels symposium discussion

Alan McKinnon and Dick Wright

Opportunities for Trans-Atlantic Research Collaboration on this Topic

Maria-Cristina Marolda, European Commission

Alasdair Cain, US Department for Transportation

Transition: from Adaptation to Mitigation: Steve Cliff, CARB and UC Davies

Chair of the Climate Mitigation Symposium Planning Committee