planning and investment, so that issues of equity, economic development, environmental stewardship, and sustainable communities are addressed in concert with infrastructure planning. The findings and recommendations of this paper are based on a review of research and policy literature, interviews with senior policy-makers and managers of transportation agencies, a review of recent legislative initiatives, and the direct experience of the authors in climate impacts and adaptation work. The white paper is organized as follows: B Section 2.0 provides an introduction to the potential impacts of climate change, their effects
on transportation, and some of the adaptation strategies and policies that have been recommended in the literature to address these impacts; B Section 3.0 summarizes legislative activity that has taken place at the state and federal level regarding adaptation; B Section 4.0 discusses recommended short-, medium-, and long-term policies needed to address climate impacts and adaptation for the U.S. transportation system; and B Section 5.0 presents near-term recommendations for advancing these policies through Federal legislation and policy.
Figure 1.1 Relationship of Transportation Planning Timeframe and Infrastructure Service Life to Increasing Climate Change Impacts
CLIMATE IMPACTS Engineering & Design Construction
In Service
Facility Service Life
Transportation Planning Process
Project Concept
0
Adopted long-range plan
10
20
30
40
50 Years
60
70
80
90
100
Source: CCSP, 2008: Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, Phase I. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research [Savonis, M. J., V.R. Burkett, and J.R. Potter (eds.)]. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., USA.
INTRODUCTION
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