Securing High Levels of Sustainability in Transportation Under Future Climate Change
Authors: Matulla Christoph , Enigl Katharina 
Published: January 2023

It is well known that global temperatures have risen by about 1°C since the second half of the 19th century and that the major part of global warming experienced since the mid-20th century is due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The transportation sector contributes approximately 30% of the GHG emissions released in the European Union (EU) and is a significant driver of climate change. Therefore, most discussions and initiatives regarding transportation have been geared toward mitigation (reducing GHG emissions). However, transportation is exposed to climate change impacts at the same time. Since climate change will continue to unfold in the coming decades, mitigation alone is not enough to provide protection, and adaptation efforts will also be needed.

Extreme weather events, which are expected to occur more frequently and violently in the wake of climate change over the decades to come, pose a considerable challenge to the resilience, reliability, and safety of transportation systems. It has become obvious that these challenges cannot be met with mitigation (reduction of GHG emissions) alone but have to be addressed by suitable adaptation measures. Appropriate actions will help to reduce the risk of bad investments and damage to transport infrastructure, and their identification is not trivial because of the often long lifespan (many decades) of infrastructure and the uncertainty involved in forecasting the extent of climate change’s impacts over long periods of time.

It is therefore crucial to incorporate into transportation planning the design of appropriate measures for adaptation to the impact of climate change. However, for some reason (so-called barriers to adaptation), adaptation has rarely been adopted by stakeholders. The barriers include, for example, insufficient understanding of climate-related hazards and the vulnerability of the transport system to them; the lack of appropriate procedures; the lack of perception of the urgency; the impression that there is no need for a forward-looking, proactive integration of adaptation strategies into transport planning; the perception that the uncertainties are too great for adaptation planning; and budget challenges.

Results of a survey among stakeholders in transportation—conducted in order to establish land transportation as the World Meteorological Organization’s new Service Delivery Target—revealed that stakeholders’ reluctance to implement the design of adaptation strategies into transportation planning, which was quite pronounced only a few years ago, has given way to general acceptance.

The transport sector has a dual role—on the one hand, as a major driver of climate change, and on the other hand, as a sector vulnerable to climate change impacts. The consequences of climate change for transportation and the strategies for dealing with them by mitigation and adaptation are paramount. Mitigation and adaptation complement each other in attaining optimal protection of transportation against climate change’s impacts.

Finally, the implementation of appropriate adaptation strategies needs to support decision makers in the design of forward-looking strategies that enhance the sustainability of infrastructure. An example of such implementation has occurred in the complex terrain of the European Alps.