The European Paving Concrete Association (EUPAVE) recently published the Position Paper titled “A Resilient Road Network for Adaptation to Climate Change”. EUPAVE calls on the decision makers to build the resilient, durable transport network for adaptation to climate change. Thanks to their durability and robustness, concrete pavements are apt to meet the challenges posed by the future climate.
The global climate is changing due to human activity is overwhelmingly supported by historical observation (IPCC 2013). Current climate models generally project that the climate will continue to change—and do so at an increasing rate—over the next century or longer (IPCC 2013; IPCC 2014), notwithstanding the agreement reached at COP211.
Adaptation to climate change is the process of making our buildings and infrastructure “future-proof” by designing them to be able to withstand the changed climate of the future. The European Union (EU) has adopted a Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, which focuses on promoting Member State action, integrating adaptation into EU policies, and supporting better informed decision-making. When it comes to infrastructure, it includes the development of guidelines for project developers, climate-proofing for major EU-funded projects, as well as looking at the role of European standards. This paper describes the EU’s position in these categories:
The effect of climate change on roads and pavements: The two main consequences of climate change that will affect roads are increases in temperature and precipitation. Europe’s road network can be expected to suffer various stresses as a result: flooding, erosion of embankments and foundations, loss of road structure integrity and loss of pavement integrity.
Concrete solutions: Resilience can be understood as the capacity to anticipate and minimise potential destructive forces through adaptation or resistance. Cement and concrete solutions for roads are therefore resilient solutions. Concrete pavements are long-lasting and are built to with- stand changes in temperature or moisture. Concrete stiffness remains constant in the range of ambient temperatures, not suffering softening or rutting. In fact, the surface of concrete is robust and it keeps its properties (microtexture, macrotex- ture, roughness and skid resistance) over time, independently of climate effects.
What policies are needed? Taking a long-term approach to procurement of transport infrastructure has multiple advantages: reduced life-cycle costs and reduced environmental impact thanks to durability, reduced maintenance etc. This is also relevant for adaptation to climate change. It is clear that acting to make Europe’s road network more resilient should be done sooner rather than later.
EUPAVE calls on the European Commission, Member States and road authorities
to ensure the road network is adapted to the effects of climate change, starting now.
To download the Publication in PDF form, please go to:
http://www.eupave.eu/documents/position-papers-and-leaflets/eupave-position-paper-adaptation-to-climate-change.pdf.
For more information, please contact:
EUPAVE: Tel: +32 (0) 2 790 42 06 | Fax: +32 (0) 2 640 06 70 | Website: www.eupave.eu | E-mail: info@eupave.eu www.eupave.eu