The recent reports from the UN’s climate science body, the IPCC, show that the timeframes for addressing climate change are narrowing and the next eight years will be critical. With […]
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ICSI publishes features on particular topics related to our work.
The golden thread of resilience guidance, tools and standards (and metrics)
Guidance, tools and standards play a key role in the development of sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Savina Carluccio looks back, there is a golden thread that runs through several pieces of work and leads to our work on climate resilient Infrastructure Pathways and resilience indicators which will be launching later this year for COP26.
Resilience insights from two crises involving power failure
Lessons learned from two different crises – severe winter storm, and wildfires – both involving many impacts and major power outages, show strong parallels.
‘Lessons learned’ and the changing face of engineering
Professor Paul Jowitt shares his reflections on what makes an engineer today, why ‘lessons learned’ about failure don’t seem to be, and how systems thinking is fundamental to resilience.
Shoreline Restoration: ‘Protecting Community, Conserving the Coast’
Our friends at WSP tell us about a project that uses nature-based solutions to stabilize the shoreline in Apalachicola Bay, Florida USA, and how it fits in with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Investigating a Pathway to Net Zero for the Australian Water Industry
WSP engineers Tanu Kaur and Matt Lyon examine ways the Australian water industry can reach carbon net-zero. They look at the current situtation, policies and strategies that could be adopted, and the barriers that need to be overcome.
Decarbonising bridges: a view from Sweden
Seizing opportunities to reduce carbon emissions through material choices and approaches that support environmental sustainability. Bridge engineers Daniel Ekström and Johan Lindersson discuss opportunities to reduce carbon emissions associated with bridges.
Championing climate resilience in Congress and at WSP
ICSI Board member, Tom Lewis, contributed to discussions on infrastructure stimulus legislation, and is leading a new focus on climate, resilience and sustainability at WSP.
WFEO climate stories: UK
The UK has commitments in place to reduce carbon emissions to 0% by 2050. However to achieve this, carbon reduction needs to be embedded in the planning, design and whole life of assets. Engineers have a key role to play in enabling this to happen by understanding how climate change affects their roles in terms of mitigation and adaptation. WFEO committee member Davide Stronati examines the climate change position in the UK.
WFEO climate stories: Kenya
Kenya has experienced an increase in droughts and floods in the last few years due to the effects of climate change. WFEO Engineering and the Environment committee member Christine Adongo Ogut looks at how climate change is affecting Kenya, and what is being done to reduce carbon emissions in the latest WFEO climate stories blog curated by ICE.
WFEO climate stories: France
In France, 83% of citizens view climate change as a major threat, although an unusually high proportion (20%) think it is already too late to stop the worst effects. In our latest WFEO Climate Stories blog Lylian Coelho Ferreira, WFEO Committee member, looks at how climate change is affecting France, and what the home of the Paris Convention on Climate Change is doing to tackle carbon emissions.
WFEO climate stories: Canada
The second largest country by area, Canada is starting to feel a range of climate change effects. As part of our WFEO Climate Stories series, curated by ICE, Darrel Danyluk and David Lapp look at the situation in Canada and how you tackle climate change in such a large and diverse landmass, and why local responses are key.
WFEO climate stories: Australia
With Australia’s climate having warmed by roughly 1.44°C since 1910, it is already feeling the effects of climate change. Dr Marlene Kanga looks at the impact of warming on this dry continent, how much of an appetite there is for decarbonisation, and what is being done already to combat climate change.
WFEO climate stories: China
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is hosting the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’ (WFEO) Committee on Engineering and the Environment from 2019 to 2023. For this blog series, comissioned by ICE, committee members provide a snapshot of climate change impacts and solutions in their part of the world. To kick off, Professor Jianping Wu of Beijing’s Tsinghua University and his colleagues, Jing He and Xiaodong Guan, survey the scene in China.