The report, titled Resilience to extreme weather, investigates what can be done to minimise the impact of floods, droughts and heatwaves. It calls for action at all levels of government and for changes to global financial accounting and regulation to ensure that extreme weather risk is made explicit.
t also compares various practical options for the most effective and affordable defence against the impacts of extreme weather. It says that those investing in infrastructure to reduce the impact of extreme weather should look beyond traditional engineering options to those based on natural ecosystems or processes.
It states: “There is evidence that options which incorporate these ecosystem-based approaches are more affordable and deliver wider societal benefits as well as reducing the immediate impact of the hazard. However, more evidence is needed to monitor their effectiveness and inform future decisions.”
The UK Green Building Council said that the report was significant for the construction industry. Director of policy and communications John Alker said: “This report is a wake-up call to businesses and governments around the world, and shows that resilience to extreme weather is fundamentally an issue of risk. Flooding, droughts and heatwaves will all have serious impacts on buildings across the globe and those who live and work within them.
“But it offers another reminder that our built environment is on the front line when it comes to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change. That is why it's so vital to redouble our efforts to both ensure our buildings and infrastructure are as low carbon as possible, and that their design allows businesses and communities to adapt to the climate change already locked in.”
The full report can be downloaded at https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/projects/resilience-climate-change/resilience-full-report.pdf
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