ASCE-NOAA TF Climate Resilience in Engineering Practice

Significant fiscal and intellectual investment in climate-resilient infrastructure is sorely needed for the Nation and indeed the world. To help the Nation achieve these twin goals, promoting the development of climate-resilient codes and standards is of strategic importance. To date, infrastructure codes and standards have not taken into account that our climate is rapidly changing. A formal collaboration between the Nation’s largest provider of climate information, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the world’s largest civil engineering professional society, the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE), is necessary and ongoing. The expressed focus of such a collaboration is on advancing the use of NOAA-produced climate science and understanding within engineering practice for the design and construction of climate-resilient infrastructure. Specifically, the development and updating of ASCE codes, standards, and manuals of practice by a series of exchanges between NOAA and ASCE and focusing on the co-development of problem definition and technology transfer mechanisms. The ASCE-NOAA Task Force on Climate Resilience in Engineering Practice (Task Force) proposes to a convene a panel discussion to provide updates on the work and plans of the Task Force focusing on climate-risk reduction in building practices. The NOAA Climate Program Office has forged a partnership with the University of Maryland (UMD) Center for Technology and Systems Management and ASCE to expedite the development of climate-smart engineering codes and standards. This effort should increase the pace of climate adaptation and reduce maintenance costs, as well the costs of climate-related natural disasters.