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Addressing Climate Change as an Emerging Risk to Infrastructure Systems

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  • Julie Shortridge
  • Janey Smith Camp

Abstract

The consequences that climate change could have on infrastructure systems are potentially severe but highly uncertain. This should make risk analysis a natural framework for climate adaptation in infrastructure systems. However, many aspects of climate change, such as weak background knowledge and societal controversy, make it an emerging risk where traditional approaches for risk assessment and management cannot be confidently employed. A number of research developments aimed at addressing these issues have emerged in recent years, such as the development of probabilistic climate projections, climate services, and robust decision frameworks. However, additional research is needed to improve the suitability of these methods for infrastructure planning. In this perspective, we outline some of the challenges in addressing climate change risks to infrastructure and summarize new developments aimed at meeting these challenges. We end by highlighting needs for future research, many of which could be well‐served by expertise within the risk analysis community.

Suggested Citation

  • Julie Shortridge & Janey Smith Camp, 2019. "Addressing Climate Change as an Emerging Risk to Infrastructure Systems," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(5), pages 959-967, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:39:y:2019:i:5:p:959-967
    DOI: 10.1111/risa.13234
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mikhail Chester & Mounir El Asmar & Samantha Hayes & Cheryl Desha, 2021. "Post-Disaster Infrastructure Delivery for Resilience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Ren, Yi-Shuai & Klein, Tony & Jiang, Yong, 2025. "Corporate investment decisions amid climate risks: Relocate or stay?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    4. Asim K. Dey & Vyacheslav Lyubchich & Yulia R. Gel, 2024. "Multivariate Modeling of Precipitation-Induced Home Insurance Risks Using Data Depth," Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, Springer;The International Biometric Society;American Statistical Association, vol. 29(1), pages 36-55, March.
    5. Mikhail V. Chester, 2020. "Industrial ecology in support of climate change adaptation," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(2), pages 271-275, April.
    6. Nitheshnirmal Sadhasivam & Leonard Ohenhen & Mohammad Khorrami & Susanna Werth & Manoochehr Shirzaei, 2025. "Building damage risk in sinking Indian megacities," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 8(12), pages 1467-1479, December.
    7. Julia Reis & Julie Shortridge, 2020. "Impact of Uncertainty Parameter Distribution on Robust Decision Making Outcomes for Climate Change Adaptation under Deep Uncertainty," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(3), pages 494-511, March.
    8. Suo, Weilan & Wang, Lin & Li, Jianping, 2021. "Probabilistic risk assessment for interdependent critical infrastructures: A scenario-driven dynamic stochastic model," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).

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