Humankind is currently experiencing changes in the climate system and more changes are projected to occur in the next decades. For the transport sector, it is not only important to contribute to the mitigation of climate change in order to limit climatic changes to a manageable level, but also to manage unavoidable changes and related impacts on infrastructure and mobility by adapting transport infrastructure assets and services to the new conditions in which they will operate. The challenge of providing a climate resilient transport system is taken up by the BMDV Network of Experts – a research network of seven Federal Agencies under the German Federal Ministry of Digital and Transportation (BMDV).
Transport infrastructures and traffic flows along the federal roads, railways and inland waterways vulnerable to climate changes today and in future are to be identified. This is done using specific impact models as well as climate indices that serve as proxies for expected damages. These climate change impact analyses are done based on common data sets, scenario assumptions and assessment methods that allow for a comparable assessment over all modes of transport. Climate impacts that are studied within the BMDV Network of Experts are storms―windthrow, heavy precipitation―flash floods, erosion and landslides, enduring precipitation―flooding, drought―low flows and embankment fires, and sea level rise―tidal dynamics. Exemplarily, adaptation measures are developed in order to increase the climate resilience of the transport modes.
The research network has a strong practical orientation; the demands and questions of the infrastructure operators are integrated in the conception of research questions. The data, methods and results obtained by the research program BMDV Network of Experts are included in the operational services within the DAS core service “climate and water” (https://www.das-basisdienst.de/) that was established in 2020. These services support the climate change adaptation of transport and mobility in Germany, while many of the specific data, methods and analysis tools are also relevant for other fields of action like water management, coastal protection, construction engineering or the energy sector. The ongoing close dialogue between science, policy and practice is thereby of great importance in order to provide useful and targeted services.
How to cite: Hänsel, S., Klippel, L., Brendel, C., Nilson, E., Schade, N., Meine, L., Herrmann, C., and Hache, I.: Increasing the resilience of the German transport system to climate change and extreme weather events , EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-525, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-525, 2022.
