15 SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE


Climate change means ‘designing for uncertainty’


T John Dora


he publication of BS EN ISO 14090 on adaptation to climate change in June 2019 was a milestone in the movement towards a global, coordinated,


standards response to the threats – and opportunities – that climate change poses. However, John Dora, director of Climate Sense consultancy and a co-convenor of the ISO technical committee that produced the standard, says that this is only the start of the work that needs to be done to get organizations to grapple with the implications of present and imminent climate change. “We are auditing existing ISO standards with climate change adaptation in mind and looking for case studies that have resulted in a structural and operational change. The idea is that the case studies can be used to build an evidence base over time.” “I’m not confi dent that action is now being taken at the right levels but awareness of the need for climate adaptation to be built into infrastructure


projects is growing. Decision-makers urgently need to incorporate resilience into infrastructure projects at the design stage so as to allow resilient operation and maintenance of the infrastructure system in the face of a rapidly changing climate.” John and his colleagues also are working on behalf on the European standards organizations CEN and CENELEC looking in detail at a selection of European Standards, used by engineers in the construction of infrastructure and, in the case of the Structural Eurocodes, required by law. They cover aspects such as concrete and steel design and are specifi ed in European standards. “I’ve been looking for gaps in preparedness


for climate change in the transport sector and two colleagues are looking at buildings and energy infrastructure standards,” said John. They will each produce sector specifi c reports in the next year and make recommendations for a new approach. “Standards have tended to look back to past climate records, for example weather data between 1961-90, when developing weather ‘loading’ criteria,” said John. “This is no longer appropriate with the weather


THE NATIONAL TRUST AND BS EN 14090 CLICK TO READ


BS EN ISO 14090 ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE CLICK TO READ


and expertise – to fi t your individual circumstances.” He points to how BS EN ISO 14090 complements


existing standards such as BS EN ISO 14001 on environmental


management systems and BS EN ISO 55000 on asset management; “BS EN ISO 14090 answers the requirement in BS EN ISO 14001 to assess environmental impact. For users of BS EN ISO 55000, the references to the lifecycle of infrastructure, products and services in BS EN ISO 14090 are a reminder that assets being designed for a lifecycle greater than 20 years need to be assessed for the impact of climate change.


“BS EN 14090 will have a major impact on


patterns that we are now experiencing and the rapid change to extreme events over the past few years.”


Instead, John is promoting the


concept of adaptive management which helps engineers design for uncertainty. “Eurocodes typically require design for a 60-120-year lifespan, which doesn’t work for infrastructure impacted by uncertain weather events. With adaptive management you design and build for a shorter timescale and then reassess and adjust in, say, 30 years.” In the meantime, John is keen to stress the usefulness of BS EN ISO 14090 to all kinds of organizations. “The standard is designed for use by any organization, from a cricket club to a multinational corporation. It provides a framework that shows you how to risk assess for climate change and then arrange the resources – for example, funding


how these and other related standards are used in the future.” A signifi cant inclusion in BS EN 14090 is a


reference to the UN Sustainable Development goals and the targets in the 2016 Paris accord on climate change.


“It demonstrates that our standards


development work is joined up with the UN SDGs and it gives leverage to senior managers to explain to their managers, this is what governments are asking for, it’s making these connections. BS EN 14090 says adaptation to climate change is business as usual, not an add-on,” said John.


“BS EN 14090 demonstrates that our standards development work is joined up with the UN SDGs”


CONTENTS


CONTACT THE TEAM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24