What types of infrastructure is Eva-Climat designed for?
Eva-Climat can be used to work on the resilience of all the infrastructure that has a major impact on a region: roads, railways, ports and airports, as well as electricity and water infrastructure (water supply and drainage).
What data is the vulnerability analysis based on?
Eva-Climat is mainly based on two types of data: climate data and infrastructure data. The climate data comes from national meteorological offices such as Météo-France, but also from climate projections based on IPCC scenarios.
As far as infrastructure data is concerned, we base ourselves on the data available from the manager or project owner, i.e. mainly the design (depending on the level of detail available) and incident databases where they exist. This data collection is supplemented by interviews and workshops.
What climate scenarios are you working on, and over what timeframe?
As far as the climate scenarios are concerned, we base ourselves on TRACC +4°C and use the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios from the latest IPCC report, as well as the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios (+4°C on a global scale) when the resolution of the SSPs is not sufficient.
The projection horizon depends mainly on the type of infrastructure, but we routinely consider medium-term horizons (2041-2070) and long-term horizons (2071-2100).
At what point in the infrastructure lifecycle should Eva-Climat be involved?
The earlier we are able to assess an infrastructure's vulnerability to the future climate, the greater the levers of action we will be able to implement to improve its resilience.
However, given the maintenance challenges facing infrastructure currently in use, our methodologies also allow us to intervene on these assets and propose dedicated adaptation plans.
In short, we are involved across the entire infrastructure value chain, from identifying needs through to design and operation.
What types of adaptation measures
For each infrastructure component for which an action plan is deemed necessary, five main types of adaptation measures can be proposed:
- ‘Wait and see’ measures. In this strategy, it is assumed that the risk can be managed using current procedures. Knowledge and qualification of the risk is a first form of adaptation;
- Measures to reduce uncertainty and monitor impacts. In this strategy, it is assumed that knowledge of the risks must first be improved before taking specific measures, with specific studies for example;
- Measures to put in place emergency plans to improve the resilience of the infrastructure. This is a ‘reactive’ strategy designed to get the infrastructure operational again as soon as possible after the hazard has occurred;
- Measures to reinforce preventive maintenance. This is a ‘proactive’ strategy aimed primarily at avoiding major damage to the infrastructure;
- Reinforcing the infrastructure. When the integrity of the entire infrastructure is at stake and reinforced maintenance seems insufficient, it may be necessary to reinforce the infrastructure itself.
