In addition to reducing emissions in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, we must also ensure that we are protecting communities by building infrastructure that can withstand the results of climate change we are already experiencing. To address this issue, the EU has created guidelines to ensure that all new infrastructure projects are designed to withstand climate change.
Infrastructure projects like bridges, power stations, and railways must meet climate resiliency guidelines in order to receive EU funding, and these new guidelines make it easier to define what exactly climate resilience looks like. They include conducting a full assessment of climate-related risks to a project based on long-term climate projections as well as mandates for construction’s physical resilience to heatwaves, floods, wildfires, and other climate crises.
New projects will also be required to report their expected greenhouse gas emissions. This climate infrastructure policy is part of the EU’s 17.5 billion euro “just transition fund,” which aims to transition the region off of fossil fuels while equipping countries to manage the challenges of a warming planet.
