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Transport and adaptation

Impacts of climate change on the transport sector

As a source of greenhouse-gas emissions, the transport sector is a contributor to climate change. It will also be significantly affected by both the indirect and direct unavoidable impacts of climate change.
Transport is vital for both urban and rural communities and businesses in the UK and internationally, and is vulnerable to disruption from different forms of extreme weather events such as flooding, heatwaves and storms, all of which are likely to increase in severity due to climate change.
Any disruptions or delays within the transport sector impact upon business in other economic sectors, due to the interdependency of related sectors.

Shipping

The impacts of climate change will affect the shipping industry, both in terms of possible future inclusion in some form of global trading system and in the immediate term, in relation to impacts on marine and inland waterways and port facilities.

Rail

The impacts on the rail network relate to damage to infrastructure and health or business impacts from resulting delays, and they are already apparent.

'In the summer of 2007, flooding affected the railway in 265 places. These floods cost Network Rail £10.5 million in infrastructural damages and a further £25.6 million in compensation to train operators for business interruption'. (Keeping an eye on the weather, 2 December 2008, Railnews.co.uk)

Rising sea levels and powerful sea surges may disrupt train lines which run in close proximity to the coastline. These include the South West line, Cumbrian Coastline, the Swansea-Carmarthen in South Wales and the Stomeferry to Kyle-of-Lochalsh line.

Air

Air transport is affected directly by its inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and by the impact of rising temperatures, flooding, excess surface run-off and prevailing wind patterns, on aircraft operation.

Road

The Highways Agency is responsible for the operation, maintenance and repairs to the road network in England. The Department for Transport has recommended that the Highways Agency carry out an assessment to identify which standards will need to be revised in light of the UK Climate Impacts Programme’s scenarios for climate change.

Legal considerations and regulations

  • The transport sector may experience increased claims resulting from delays, business interruption or impacts on contractor service levels. Further claims might be made by employees or third parties, such as passengers, resulting from the compromised operators’ ability to meet existing Health and Safety regulations.
  • Costs both to build and maintain infrastructure will increase while the life span of the infrastructure will decrease.
  • Route access might have to be renegotiated should existing routes be compromised, which will have a knock-on effect on the drafting of, for example, planning agreements, easements, rights of way and negotiation of real-estate considerations.
  • Sectors such as shipping, aviation and road haulage are likely to encounter increased regulation regarding the types of fuels used in commercial transport. These sectors will need to adapt to changing fuel types as a result of regulation and the availability of conventional fuel sources.

Produced in association with Ecofys UK Ltd