Adapting to climate change “essential for human survival
February 1st 2009 In its latest environmental report Climate Change: Adapting to the Inevitable? the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ argues that we must put more emphasis on examining the measures necessary to adapt to future changes that may come from rising CO2 emissions, rather than focussing on how to prevent them, if we are to be able to cope with these changes.
The Institution suggests that although many nations will cope with the impacts of climate change in the short term in the long term it will be a different story. Global governments are meeting in November 2009 to agree a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, proposing reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by mitigation.
However, as global emissions are not reducing and the climate is changing, the more pragmatic approach,the Institution suggests that adapting our behaviour may be the only way we can hope to secure long-term human survival.
The Institution says we have to look at how engineers might help our world to adapt to changes over the next few centuries.
The effects of temperature increase – the heart of climate change – will be felt globally. For developed countries, such as the UK, flooding and rising sea levels will be a massive problem – a 7m rise in sea levels would mean the abandonment of most parts of London which border the Thames ie Canary Wharf, Chelsea and Westminster. For developing countries such as Botswana there would be extreme social and economic issues.
Four areas of engineering are considered under the above climate scenarios: energy,water, buildings, and transport, and how they will need to be adapted to deliver a more resilient and robust adaptive management system.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers recommends the following:
• Rising sea levels and increased flooding will require serious consideration of the viability of settlements, transport routes and infrastructure
• To protect the welfare of its citizens governments must support climate adaptation
• More research, development and investment in renewable energy sources is required to offset the loss of fossil fuels
• We have to invest in Carbon Capture and Storage technology
• The industrialised world has to take the lead in taking responsibility for the economic needs of vulnerable nations www.imeche.org/ More articles from WEE News Desk: | 
