The Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS) have released the pre-publication version of TRB Special Report 290, The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation, which explores the consequences of climate change for U.S. transportation infrastructure and operations. The report provides an overview of the scientific consensus on the current and future climate changes of particular relevance to U.S. transportation, including the limits of present scientific understanding as to their precise timing, magnitude, and geographic location; identifies potential impacts on U.S. transportation and adaptation options; and offers recommendations for both research and actions that can be taken to prepare for climate change. The book also summarizes previous work on strategies for reducing transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide--the primary greenhouse gas--that contribute to climate change. Five commissioned papers used by the committee to help develop the report, a summary of the report, and a National Academies press release associated with the report are available online. DELS, like TRB, is a division of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.

This summary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change represents the formally agreed statement concerning climate change mitigation. It focuses on new literature on the scientific, technological, environmental, economic & social aspects of mitigation of climate change, pub. since the 3rd Assessment Report & the Special Reports on CO2 Capture & Storage & on Safeguarding the Ozone Layer & the Global Climate System. Contents: Greenhouse gas emission trends; Mitigation in the short & medium term across different economic sectors (until 2030); Mitigation in the long-term & beyond 2030; Policies, measures & instruments to mitigate climate change; Sustainable develop. & climate change mitigation; & Gaps in knowledge. Illus.

Given the strategic role of seaports and of other coastal transport infrastructure as part of the global trading system and the potential for climate-related delays and disruptions across global supply chains, enhancing the climate resilience of key transport infrastructure is a matter of strategic economic importance. Legal and regulatory approaches, as well as policies and plans are going to be key to efforts at facilitating effective risk and vulnerability assessments and providing a supportive framework for adaptation action at all levels. Guidance, standards, best practices, methodologies and other tools in support of adaptation are urgently required, and targeted capacity building is going to be critical, especially for the most vulnerable countries. This includes SIDS, which depend on their ports and coastal airports for food and energy needs, external trade and - crucially - tourism, which typically accounts for a major share of GDP. Against this background and drawing on UNCTAD's related work, since 2008, this compilation of policies and practices has been prepared to contribute to bridging a knowledge gap with regards to climate change impacts and adaptation for coastal transport infrastructure. The compilation presents examples of legal and policy approaches, as well as of reports, studies and guidance to support climate risk, vulnerability and impact assessment, and the development of effective adaptation response measures for coastal transport infrastructure, with a view to informing and inspiring policy makers, national authorities, transport managers, infrastructure owners, and other interested stakeholders in their efforts.

Climate change poses many challenges that affect society and the natural world. With these challenges, however, come opportunities to respond. By taking steps to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the risks to society and the impacts of continued climate change can be lessened. The National Climate Assessment, coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, is a mandated report intended to inform response decisions. Required to be developed every four years, these reports provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation of climate change impacts available for the United States, making them a unique and important climate change document. The draft Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) report reviewed here addresses a wide range of topics of high importance to the United States and society more broadly, extending from human health and community well-being, to the built environment, to businesses and economies, to ecosystems and natural resources. This report evaluates the draft NCA4 to determine if it meets the requirements of the federal mandate, whether it provides accurate information grounded in the scientific literature, and whether it effectively communicates climate science, impacts, and responses for general audiences including the public, decision makers, and other stakeholders.

This report presents the analyses of several climate variables relevant to transport networks and nodes within the ECE region. Regional maps have been produced in Geographical Information System (GIS) format, showing the main transportation networks, which have been overlain by the spatial distribution of the climate change projections, thereby presenting an initial perspective of areas of potential risk which could warrant more in-depth assessment. The Group of Experts has also reviewed and presented country experiences in the form of case studies, demonstrating a range of efforts that have been undertaken to analyse climate change impacts on transport assets and operations. With its work, the Group of Experts wishes to raise awareness on the importance of considering climate change and extreme weather (for example, in planning, construction, maintenance and operations) and of strengthening the climate resilience of inland transport assets, networks and nodes. It also aims to stimulate the continuation of work to establish the necessary analytical basis to facilitate local or regional assessments, leading to the identification of specific transport assets at risk which may require adaptation efforts. The Group of Experts, within this report, also formulated a series of lessons learned which have served as a basis to recommend future action at national and international levels towards improved transportation system climate resilience.

This topical volume covers the intersection between transport and climate change, with papers from the 'Transport & Climate Change' session of the RGS-IBG conference in London, September 2010. It considers the role of transport modes at varying spatial dimensions and a range of perspectives on the relationship between transport and climate change.

Inland waterways are a host for a mode of transport that is not as visible to the general public or as used as it once was. It is, however, generally perceived to be very important to our freight transport system today, although a closer look into the inland waterway transport system rebuts this perception and reveals the strengths and opportunities of this mode of transportation. This book gives the reader a thorough understanding of the current role of inland waterway transport as a freight transport system and its conditions. Drawing on case studies from across Europe, this text explores the economic, logistic, and technological and policy issues related to inland waterway transport and the challenges that changes in these areas present to this transport mode. It also explores the strategies for the inland waterway transport sector to secure and then enlarge its role in the future of freight transport. Inland Waterway Transport will be an invaluable source for students and researchers of transport studies. In addition, the book will be useful to policymakers and practitioners involved in its development. It may also appeal to wider readers with an interest in the fascinating business of inland waterway transport.

Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Summarizes the science of climate change and impacts on the United States, for the public and policymakers.